Hand in Hand
by TerryJ
Summary: "Everything had gone from dismal to wonderful in the seeming blink of an eye and try as she might, Mackenzie could not fight the creeping fear that it was all horribly temporary." An open ended 'What comes next' In the hours days and weeks after Election Night II - 70% Fluffy Goodness but life and love aren't always easy...
1. Chapter 1

_A/N - I want to add finishing chapters to my other stories but I had to indulge my muse by indulging it with this... During the final music montage of ENII when Sloan and Taylor are at the news desk while Taylor coughs on the cigar I asked myself "Where's Will?" and then my imagination went crazy and thus another multi-chapter monster has been born. Enjoy!_

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Mac stood quietly in the chaos of the control room, absently fiddling with the ring on her previously unadorned finger and watching Will speak directly into the camera. If anyone had asked her how she was feeling at the moment she wouldn't have been able to tell them. The boys were still puffing on the cigars that Don had produced from somewhere and she could still taste the champagne that Jim had asked Lisa to bring down. Looking through the control room window she noted that the jovial atmosphere had continued on in the bull pen. She was grateful the studio was turned around for the special election night coverage, otherwise the party would have been on full display behind Will's shoulder.

It was amazing really, the difference an hour, a refusal of resignation and an engagement could make in the atmosphere of a crowd. Everything had gone from dismal to wonderful in the seeming blink of an eye and try as she might, Mackenzie could not fight the creeping fear that it was all horribly temporary. She feared Will would realize the reckless impulsiveness of his actions and she knew that despite their resolution to stand strong the Dantana suit and public pressure could still destroy them all professionally. After this euphoric high she feared the crash would be harder and more painful when she found herself back where she started; jobless, alone and wounded by the man she loved.

She bit her lip as she watched him smile at something Sloan was saying. He seemed so happy, the energy of everything infusing him with a spirit she had not seen in far too long. The idea of that spirit extinguishing again tore at her even more than the contemplation of her own pain.

Distantly she registered Herb releasing to break and she knew she should probably be focused on the business of her control room but the thoughts in her head just didn't allow space at the moment.

She watched through the monitor as Don entered the studio, offering Sloan a cigar. The economics reporter declined with a sly grin, staring for a long moment in to Don's eyes. The moment between the two was quickly broken when Taylor interrupted, "What about me? I would like a cigar."

Will chuckled and shook his head, eyes focused on sorting out the various papers strewn on the desk in front of him. Mackenzie toggled open the switch on her com but immediately closed it again before she spoke, reconsidering. She didn't want to risk upsetting their newly acquired status quo by giving voice to her doubts. She bit her lip for a long moment but the insecurities in her head were drowning her and she needed him. She toggled the com back on.

"Will?"

He looked to camera 1 with a smile that was so simple and genuine that Mac almost forgot what she had wanted.

Will's gaze softened and without her needing to say another word he nodded and stood from his chair, wryly instructing Sloan to hold down the fort.

Mac was slow enough removing her headset that she was able to hear Sloan huff, "It's a break; how much drama could happen during a break? Oh Right...only everything!"

By the time she Mackenzie had made it out of the control room Will was waiting for her by the studio door.

"Do you mind if we go out to the terrace? It's a million degrees in that studio." He suggested.

Mac nodded silently and turned to lead the way out. She let out a gasp of surprise when Will grasped her wrist, halting her movement.

"You don't need a jacket?" He asked, standing close.

Mackenzie wanted to tell him that she didn't think she would ever need a jacket if he kept looking at her the way he was looking at her now but she just shook her head, twisted her hand until it grasped his and lead the way outside.

Once they were out there she took a deep breath of the cool November air and silently thanked Will for suggesting they go outside. The fresh air was exactly what she needed to help reclaim some of her equilibrium.

Will stopped in front of her and looked into her face, a small smile on his lips but he remained silent, his eyes offering infinite patience, seeming to know the storm tormenting her brain and waiting for her to tell him what she needed.

The silent understanding was overwhelming and so reminiscent of how perfect she knew they could be that Mackenzie dropped her gaze from his eyes, instead focusing on their entwined fingers, reaching with her free hand to grasp his own and smiling in small delight when he wrapped her fingers in his palm and gave a small squeeze.

"Mackenzie?" He spoke quietly, "What's going on in that brain of yours?"

She bit her lip, her eyes still focused on their hands, "I always loved holding hands with you."

Will let out a short, amused breath but said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"I just...it's hard to believe that suddenly I can. I can just put out my hand, and there yours will be." She felt the tears building as all of her fears tried to shove their way into her voice box at once. She had not cried all night even though she had plenty of good reason to and she would be damned if she started now so she took a deep breath and swallowed back the moisture in her eyes before she tilted her head up to meet Will's gaze again.

"It's wonderful and I don't ever want to not be able to hold your hand again. But I can't help but wonder...It's like whiplash, you know? Wonderful whiplash, but it's shaken everything up and the world feels all upside down and I'm afraid as to what will happen when it rights itself."

Will squeezed her hand. "Things will settle down and return to normal. We'll do our show and we'll argue about content and ratings and guests and staff assignments and story angles. I'll frustrate you and you'll exasperate me. But at the end of the day, we'll go home together and if you put out your hand, I'll always meet you with mine." He gave her hands a squeeze, emphasizing his point.

Mackenzie blinked rapidly, staring at Will in awe. "Why Will? It's been an absolute horrid day. It's been a truly terrible couple of months and a completely mussed up few years. It's not that I don't trust you but I think that may be I won't be able to believe it until I understand why..."

Will ducked his head and grimaced, "You know, I'm not as smart as people think I am."

Mac let out a smile snort of disbelief.

Will shook his head, "Really. The why is simple, because I love you and life is better when we're together and it doesn't make any sense to ignore that. I can't be all that bright if it took me this long to realize it."

Mackenzie smiled up at him. "Will, I love you too but I suspect that you've loved me since before an hour ago. So what changed? Why the sudden need to jump all in?"

He looked away taking a long deep breath before looking back at her, "Genoa. This whole thing. Look, it was a mistake. A really big mistake. But it wasn't done intentionally and for the most part we actually did everything unbelievably right. It's going to be really rocky for a while but it's worth going through it because what we have here, the whole News Night 2.0 thing? It's too important to let it go because of one fuck up. If we just give up on it then that's giving that prick Dantana power over us that he doesn't deserve. Fuck him."

Mackenzie shook her head, "Will, what does..."

He held up a hand, silencing her, "Tonight, Charlie was going off about how he didn't think we should resign because of all of that. I was sitting there and listening but my mind was all wrapped up in what had been said between the two of us all night. So I was thinking about you when I answered Charlie, acknowledging aside from what we did wrong we did everything right and I couldn't stand that you felt like you needed to take all the blame and just then it hit me, and I hate myself for how long it took me to realize it. You and me are the same thing. You made a big mistake a long time ago. But the mistake was done without malice and you've done everything else right, everything. And you've shouldered the blame the whole time, and I let you."

"Of course you did. You should have." Mac counter-pointed.

Will shook his head, "No, I shouldn't have, the same way I shouldn't have let you goad me into firing you earlier tonight. Back before, when you told me about Brian? I had cause to be angry at you for sure but I allowed that anger to justify giving up on everything and that was the bigger mistake. You were right tonight about me not returning your calls or emails. I shouldn't have shut down like I did. I let that prick of a human being tear down everything good we had built. I wasted 6 years of our lives. 6 years that could have been amazing. I should have found a way to fight through the anger and the hurt because you're too amazing to give up on and all I've done is hurt us both and waste time for 6 years. As soon as that realization crossed my mind I couldn't stand to waste another 6 seconds never mind the 60 it took for me to find you in this rat maze of a studio.

Mackenzie let out a strangled little laugh.

His thumb fiddled with the ring sitting on her finger, "But I found you, and you said yes and none of that is going to change now." He moved his hands to hold her shoulders, "Mackenzie, I love you. I never stopped loving you and I'm never going to stop. I can't apologize enough for what I've allowed to be taken from us or the hurt that I've caused both of us but this is real and not going to change, I won't let it. Even if you change your mind, I'm done sitting back and playing the victim, I'll fight for you."

She nodded, biting her lip, her hands slowly coming up to lay on his chest.

"You believe me right?" He tilted his head and bent his knees an inch, trying to hit eye level.

She nodded, "Yes I do. I absolutely do."

He smiled and her hands slid up to his shoulders and back down to his chest again, "It's just so surreal that I get to do this again."

He furrowed his brow, "Do what?"

Her hands stilled, her right palm over his heart. She looked up at him with intensity, "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to see you every day and not allow myself to touch you?"

Will's pupils dilated and he smirked, a hand coming up to gently stroke the skin on Mackenzie's neck, "Yeah, actually, I think I do."

Mac grabbed his tie and pulled him to her, their lips meeting in a fiery kiss. Mac's hands wound their way around his neck as Will's arms reached around her, one burying into her hair, the other wrapped around the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.

"Don's looking for you Mac, you're back in..oh, um. Sorry?"

Will reluctantly pulled back, an action made even more reluctant at the whimper that escaped Mackenzie's lips when he broke away from the kiss.

"Jim, come on back." He called to the young man who had already made his hasty exit.

Mackenzie furrowed her brow as Jim reappeared at the door, "How did you know he was out there?" she asked Will.

Will laughed, "You didn't hear him? He was just out here saying Don was looking for you..."

Mackenzie's hands flew from Will's neck "Oh! The broadcast! We still...!"

She spun out of Will's grasp, and hurried past Jim and out the door leaving Will and Jim to stare after her before making eye contact with one another and smiling in amusement.

"How much time were you saying Jim?" Will asked, straightening his tie and collar.

"Well, it was 3 minutes when I was in the control room, it's probably under 2 by now."

Will nodded, "Okay, thanks." He stepped toward the door but was stopped by Jim calling his name.

"Will?"

He turned and looked at Mackenzie's senior producer, silently inviting him to continue.

Jim's eyes darted across the skyline and he rolled his lips before taking a deep breath, "You know I respect you an unbelievable amount, right?"

Will opened his mouth and then shut it again. He knew that it shouldn't be a revelation but he was still a little awestruck from the senior staff's display of loyalty earlier in the evening.

Jim tilted his head, regarding Will with the analytic gaze of a reporter piecing something together, "Huh. Perhaps you don't?" He commented mostly to himself. "I'm sorry if that's something you never knew. But I do."

Will nodded mutely, still unsure where this was going.

Jim locked eyes with him with an intensity which seemed to erase the differences in their height, age, experience, notoriety and power, "I do respect you Will, but you need to know I love Mac more and I've watched you and her and your twisted dance for almost 3 years now and I've seen her in pain. I don't ever want to see that again."

Will bit the inside of his lower lip to keep from smiling as he stared at Jim. He suddenly found himself eternally grateful that this young man was in Mackenzie's life and that no matter the shit that she had been through, she had never been alone.

He took two steps forward so that he was standing directly in front of Jim, staring at him intently. He held out his hand and when Jim accepted the handshake Will held firm, "Thank you Jim."

Jim swallowed and nodded 2 quick nods before breaking the contact and stepping back, "You, uh, should probably get back in the studio before Mac flips a gasket."

Will smirked, "Well...we wouldn't want that, would we?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Aaand we're clear!"

Will let out a breath of tired relief and smiled at his on air companions for the evening, "Good job everybody."

"You too Will." Elliot replied, shaking the older man's hand as he stepped out of his chair.

"I never realized how much fun cable news could be." Mused Taylor, struggling to figure out the best way to wrap up her wire and digging under the desk for the cigar she had stashed there earlier.

Will chuckled, "Today may have been a little more fun than most."

Sloan shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Will tilted his head, "Oh will you get off it."

"Nope. I am still not talking to you." She griped.

He smirked, "You're talking to me right now."

"You know what I mean." She crossed her arms petulantly. "2 minutes. You couldn't wait two freaking minutes or at least look to see if I was in the room! I had to walk in on all the commotion and hear it second hand from Martin! Martin knew before I did."

Will shrugged, "Martin was in the room."

Sloan pouted, "You are just full of sass."

Will leaned back in his chair. "Hey, you're not exactly without sass yourself. I heard something about a book and Don and kissing..."

Sloan cocked an eyebrow, "What? Are you the only anchor who can make a move on an EP tonight?"

Will laughed out loud which was a new enough sound for Sloan to relax her annoyed pretense and smile at him.

"You better not be picking on my fiance." Came a familiar voice from the studio door.

Will immediately swiveled in his seat and smiled at her. "That's just about one of the best things I've ever heard anyone say."

Mac put her hand on her hip, "Someone saving you from Sloan? I could tell you were in need of rescue."

He shot her a mock glare. "No. And you know it. Now come on over here, Fiance of mine."

Sloan rolled her eyes, "Ugh. You two are going to be even more intolerable than normal."

Mac laughed as she moved into Will's arms, "Don't worry Sloan. Just for tonight. Tomorrow we are going to be re-instituting our office restrictions and be behaving with complete professional decorum."

Will pouted, "We are?"

She nodded at him, "We are."

He grimaced, "It's after 2 am so it's Wednesday so technically tomorrow is Thursday so I still have 22 hours to grab you and kiss you whenever and wherever I want." As if to illustrate his point he pulled her tight to him and kissed her lightly at the top of her neck just behind her ear.

"Billy!" She squealed as Sloan shook her head and ignored them, gathering her things.

"You're going to make the staff uncomfortable." Mac complained.

"Since when have I cared about the staff?" He mumbled into her collarbone.

"Will!" She chastised again, swatting at his back.

He pulled back and sighed, "Okay..." He dropped a final chaste kiss on her lips.

"You taste like champagne." He observed.

She smiled, "Someone lifted a few bottles from Reese's party upstairs. I may have participated in a few toasts in the control room."

The pout returned to his face, "You were drinking and celebrating while I was out here working?"

"I was working too...I just was sipping champagne instead of water while telling you what to do." She shrugged with a smile.

He groaned, "That is so not fair."

"Come on love birds," Sloan taunted from the doorway, "People are celebrating, come join the party."

Will smirked up at Mac, "What do you say, you want to go join the party?"

Mac tilted her head in consideration, "You hate parties. Besides, the celebration I'd like to do is best done in private." Mackenzie leaned close, her last words being whispered right behind his ear.

Will felt his spine tingle and he smiled into her neck, "You seem to be over your fear of the world righting itself." he observed.

She stood back her hands grabbing and playing with his tie. "I am. Now if you'll just come along I feel like it's my turn show you how much I love you."

Will smiled goofily but before he could move his grin faltered, something Mackenzie caught immediately, the flirty smile sliding off of her face, "What?"

He grimaced and shook his head, "I can't leave."

"What are you talking about?" Her hands dropped their hold on his tie and she tilted her head in confusion.

He stood from his chair, and rested a palm against her cheek, "There is nothing more I would rather do than go to bed with you and celebrate our engagement, but I can't tonight. I need to stay with Charlie and the Lansings. If there is going to be any hope of us all getting through this we need to gear up and tomorrow morning is important. There are plans to be made, calls to be placed and things to do all by pretty early in the morning."

Mackenzie pulled her lips between her teeth, understanding what he was saying and knowing it to be true but not necessarily happy about it.

Will's hands squeezed her arms comfortingly. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "No, you're right. And it's important to me too. I need you to be doing everything you can here. Doesn't mean the timing doesn't suck."

Will smiled, "I'm sorry about that too."

Mackenzie leaned forward, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around him, "Can you do all you need to do while I stay right here, just like this?"

She felt more than she heard the rumble of Will's amused laugh. "Tell you what?" He offered, dropping kisses in her hair, "Let's go out and enjoy sometime with our staff before they all pass out from exhaustion. Then I'll go off with Charlie and get ready to hit the ground running. You go home and please get some sleep. The first rundown isn't until noon tomorrow; sleep in and then meet me for brunch around 11? I'll be needing a break by then and we'll have things to talk about, work and otherwise. We'll come back here, get through the day and after the show I'll come home with you. How's that for a plan?"

Mackenzie sighed from her position tucked into Will's chest, "I could stay tonight too."

Will shook his head, "You need to sleep."

"So do you." She retorted.

"I'm a medical marvel." He joked back.

She just squeezed him tighter.

"I know this has got to be the most awkward proposal and lamest engagement night ever and I'm sorry." He murmured into her hair. "If you'd like I can take it back and try to do it all right on Friday night or over the weekend?"

Mackenzie pushed away from him, slapping his chest and shaking her head, "Don't you dare take it back! It was the most perfect proposal I could have dreamed of. As for the engagement night, you're spending it giving your all to protect our show and all that it stands for and I love you for it. I've waited a long time to be in bed with you again Will, I can wait a little longer while you go tilt at some windmills."

He smiled down at her, "Okay." He nodded and dropped a quick kiss to her forehead. Stepping back he grabbed her hand in his and moved toward the door, "Come on, let's find that champagne you've been hiding from me all night."


	3. Chapter 3

Mac slowed her walk as she approached the coffee shop. She didn't want Will to realize she was so eager to see him that she was practically running to their brunch date.

She had been loathe to leave him early that morning but after she had fallen asleep, standing up and leaning on his shoulder, she didn't have much say in the matter when he bundled her off into a cab with Maggie. She had complained until he wrapped his scarf around her neck and kissed her gently on the forehead, promising to see her in the morning.

She had assumed she would have too much on her mind to be able to sleep but with Will's scarf soft against her neck and having been liberated of the burdens that had been plaguing for the past two months she was asleep as soon as she made the mistake of sitting on the bed.

She woke naturally at 9:30 on top of the covers and still in her clothes. In her first moments of consciousness she struggled to sort reality from dreams until she took a deep breath and the scent of cigarettes and aftershave reminded her of the wool scarf still around her neck. She had smiled and brought the thick material up to bury her face in it but halted when the sun caught on the diamond ring still on her finger.

She sat up in bed and contemplated the ring that had been the source of such a wide range of emotions. She remembered a distant memory of teasing Will with what ring he should buy her; a round diamond in a traditional Tiffany's setting like the classy movie stars of the 50's but platinum because gold was too soft for her hard working hands. He had grumbled that he didn't care as long as it was big so that no one had any doubt about his love for her.

It was exactly what sat on her finger now. The ring was perfect and she almost doubted his story about dispatching Scott's assistant to pick it out but there would be no reason for him to create that lie.

Looking carefully at it she reasoned that she should have known all along that it wasn't from when they were together the first time. Although certainly not struggling, Will wasn't making as much money back then. He had still been in the 10 pm time slot and had only signed his first 7 figure contract a few months before they broke up.

Although he certainly could have afforded the ring, the poverty of his childhood was enough to keep his big purchases carefully calculated and deliberately balanced against his personal budget and savings. It was one of the reasons she was so shocked on her first day when he said he had given up a million dollars a year from his contract; it wasn't the amount but rather the impulsiveness.

So she should have known. But she didn't and it didn't matter now because even when she thought he hated her he had kept it because she had declared she liked it. He had kept it and last night he had given it to her along with the promise of a future together.

She smiled and indulged in holding her hand up and twisting her fingers so it caught the light and sparkled. She had always been more of a fan of shoes and bags than fancy jewelry but something about the shimmering diamond made her smile and she would have been perfectly content to waste much more time playing with the light had she not caught a glance at her clock and nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized it was nearly 10.

She had launched herself out of bed and into the shower and now 55 minutes later she was nearly at the breakfast Bistro Will had texted to her.

She spotted him as soon as she entered, he was on the phone so she just smiled and made her way to the table, looking him over as she approached. He didn't have a tie on but was in a different studio suit than what he was wearing for last night's broadcast and the smudge beneath his chin gave away a recent application of camera powder telling her he had been on air already at some point this morning.

She resisted the urge to frown, knowing she would have been called had it been an emergency broadcast. He looked tired but he was smiling while he spoke and maintained the energy of a man on a mission.

He looked up as she approached and quickly made to end his call.

"Thanks Brian. Really appreciate it. Okay, I actually have to go; my fiance just walked in and I promised her brunch." He paused, chuckling, "Yep. Last night. Don't think to hard about it. I'll catch you up later. Okay. Bye."

He hung up in time to stand and greet Mackenzie with a quick kiss on the cheek, "Good morning."

She was unable to stop herself from blushing at the innocuous kiss but she tilted her head, "Brian?"

Will rolled his eyes as they both sat down, "Williams. Brian Williams."

She nodded slowly, "Okay...why?"

Will leaned forward, "Step 1 is talking to all the reasonable people and heavy hitters in the business about the complaint and hopefully getting them to realize that while Genoa and the resulting legal suite are obviously reportable, that most of the stuff in the complaint is really nothing more than fodder for tabloids and not worth their air time or column inches. I've spoken to Brian at NBC, Scott and Leslie at CBS, Diane over at ABC, Chris at MSNBC, Jim at PBS, Wolf and Anderson at CNN and Bill over at Fox. Leona and Charlie have been following up with their counterparts and Charlie's also been working the Times and Washington Post as well as his contacts with the various wire agencies."

Mackenzie's eyebrows raised, "Wow. Have they been receptive? It sounded like your conversation with Brian ended well."

Will nodded, "Yeah. Everyone has their own newsroom filled with the drama that happens between people who spend 14 hours a day together. They all have their own embarrassments that they wouldn't want shared with the world so they're sympathetic. And even if that weren't the case, they're all good news people who don't WANT to be spending their time on stuff that isn't news. The issue is going to be the morning shows and seeing how much influence each of these prime time guys can leverage with their network to keep the morning "news" shows from roasting us forever."

Mackenzie nodded but was prevented from saying anything more by the waitress approaching their table. Will surprised Mac by ordering her breakfast for her and then putting her on the spot to order for him. She rolled her eyes at the game but he nodded his approval when she picked a western omelet with extra sausage.

"It's too much fun to put you on the spot." He grinned.

Mackenzie crossed her arms and glared at him, "I do perfectly well being put on the spot. My job is to constantly be put on the spot. I am the traffic conductor of complete chaos on a nightly basis!"

Will reached across the table and pulled one of her arms toward him until he could grasp her hand, "And you do an absolutely wonderful job at it. Which is why it's so amusing to watch you get so flustered by inconsequential things."

She rolled her eyes but relaxed her shoulders, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his. He yawned and brought his free hand up to cover his mouth.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

She smiled, "It's okay to be tired Mr. Medical Marvel."

He smirked and rubbed at his eye, leaving another subtle disruption of the studio make-up. Mac tilted her head, "What else have you been up to since last night? You look like you were on air this morning."

He nodded, "Yeah. Step 2 of the game plan is to be proactive about getting out there and resurrecting "my brand". I was on ACN Morning a couple of hours ago."

Mac's eyebrows raised, "Seems to me that wasn't such a great plan last time."

He looked away sheepishly, "That's because last time was for the wrong reasons and the wrong method. This time was about integrity, not affability. It wasn't a couch segment. Maria and I sat on the interview set with questions and discussion points we worked out beforehand. It wasn't terrible and I think we generated some positive sound bites. And I'm sorry because I know something like that you would have liked to have been a part of but Reese felt like we needed it to happen this morning and I wasn't about to wake you up."

Mackenzie nodded. He was right, she did wish she had been at least consulted about the production of the segment but she appreciated the reasoning and she knew she needed the sleep. "It's okay. I understand."

Will smiled, "Good. I was nervous about that. We also booked me to do The Daily Show this afternoon. Jon had Nate Silver booked but he can't get out of DC so the timing worked out. I need to be there by 6:15 and will be back by in the studio by 7:15. Did you want to come over for that?"

Mac bit her lip, thinking, "Maybe I'll come over with you initially for the pre-show discussion with you and Jon but I'll probably head back to ACN before you go on air. The truncated day is already making me nervous without giving up another hour, especially right before the broadcast."

Will nodded, "That'll be fine. I know Stewart will be happy to see you, he's always liked you more than me anyway."

Mackenzie smiled, "Of course. Who wouldn't?"

Will rolled his eyes but saved his retort as the waitress returned with their food.

They ate in relative silence for a few minutes until Will cleared his throat, "Well, I suppose we have things other than work to discuss."

Mackenzie calmly nodded in agreement, "I suppose so." She hoped he couldn't tell that her heart rate had suddenly increased about 10 times its normal pace.

He looked at her carefully, "You're still doing okay? Any reoccurring fears about the world righting itself?"

She met his concerned gaze and looking into his blue eyes she suddenly found her heart calming. She smiled gently at him, "I'm absolutely more than fine. I'm sorry about that last night Will. I don't want you to think I have any doubts."

He nodded and she could see the subtle tension slide out of his face, "That's good. I mean, it's totally understandable if you do, but I'm glad if you don't."

"I don't." She reassured him. "I have to admit that this morning it took me a moment to realize it wasn't all a dream but I had this lovely ring and comfortable scarf, which you're not getting back by the way, to let me know that last night wasn't just a delusion of my imagination. And to be honest it took me a half second to realize you were talking about me when you told Brian that your fiance just walked in. And I'm pretty sure that my heart literally did a back flip when I did realize that's who I am."

"Now you know how I've felt every time I've seen you since last night." He replied seriously.

She shook her head in simple amazement, "Oh yeah, I'm not letting you go anywhere McAvoy."

"Good." He smiled broadly at her.

She took a deep breath, forcing her logistical head on, "Okay, so what's next?"

Will rubbed his chin, "Well, I'd like to start with deciding on where we're going to live and then I suppose it's just a matter of how much you care about the when and size of the wedding itself. There's really nothing else that's not dependent on those."

Mac nodded in agreement, "Well my apartment is much more convenient to the office and to be honest I like it more than your place but it is too small. It's a one bedroom and doesn't even have an office space. I love you Will but I know better and I'm not going to share an apartment with you where we can't each have some of our own space."

Will chuckled, "You're absolutely right about that. Tell you what, let's start at my place. We can transition the guest bedroom into more of a working space so we'd have the bedroom and two offices, one of which can still function as a guest room if needed. We'll also go shopping for what ever you think would make it feel more comfortable. Then we can start browsing real estate and see if anything catches our eye but no rush, we can stay or move where ever and we can make that decision whenever the right thing comes along."

Mac smiled, "Good plan, I like it. I'll call a broker and get started on the process of getting my place listed." She took a long sip from her coffee, "Wow, that's a pretty big decision we just did really fast." She observed in awe.

Will smirked and nodded toward her left hand, "That's how we operate. Yesterday we were both single and today we're planning our wedding. Doesn't get much faster than that."

Mackenzie shook her head, "We are a little nutzo, aren't we? I mean what must other people think?"

Will pierced her with a steady gaze, "Do you care?"

She smiled back at him, "Not a bit."

He nodded, "Good. So then on to the next order of business, as much as I enjoy calling you my fiance I'm really looking forward to calling you my wife."

Mac blushed and bit her lip.

Will tilted his head, "What?"

Mac shrugged, "That was just incredibly sexy coming from you."

Will smiled impishly, "Yeah?"

She nodded, "Oh yeah. I'd suggest ditching work and running over to the clerk's office right now if I weren't so afraid that Sloan and my parents would..."

All of a sudden Mackenzie froze, the smile sliding off her face and her features paling. Will mimicked her expression, looking wildly over his shoulder for whatever had caused Mackenzie's to suddenly appear horrified.

Seeing nothing, he turned back to her, "Mac? What is it? Mac, What's wrong?"

She looked to him with wide eyes, her hand coming to cover her mouth, "My parents. I didn't call my parents or my brother. They're going to kill me...they're going to kill you! Oh Will, how could I have forgotten to call my parents?"

Will let out a breath, relaxing and watching Mackenzie in amusement.

She glared at him, "Don't laugh at me! You know my parents, this is serious!"

Will's eye's softened as he picked up his phone and looked down at the screen, "I'm not laughing at you." He assured distractedly.

Mackenzie shook her head, "Good because you're in just as much trouble as I am mister. God, it will be unbelievable if my Mum doesn't board the first plane over here to give you the third degree. And my Dad, well, he probably won't say anything because he likes you and understands we're not children, but he's very traditional and I imagine he would have preferred had you asked him permission first. But like I said he probably won't make an issue of it. Oh God..."

She brought her hands up to cover her face, "What time is it in Surrey? It's not even 5 pm. I can call them now, I should call them now."

When Will was still silent, she dropped her hands to see him still focused on the screen on his phone. She dropped her shoulders and tilted her head, "You know you could at least pretend to care that I'm having a melt down here. I know it's a different scenario for you but you know my parents and I are close and how much their opinion matters to me. You could at least have the decency to put down the phone."

He nodded once, and then without looking away from the device in his hand he asked, "What are you doing this weekend?"

She shook her head, "What? Will! Did you hear me?"

He nodded absently, "Yeah I did, now, did you have anything planned this weekend?"

She rolled her eyes, "No. Prior to about 11 hours ago I was planning on sitting at home with a few bottles of wine and updating my resume. Since then I've pretty much just planned on quite a bit of sex with you...that may yet change if you don't stop being an ass."

The mention of sex finally pulled Will's attention from his blackberry and she was pleased to see a slight blush creep up his neck, and his eyes darken. He glanced quickly back at the device in his hand and then back to her, and coughed to clear his throat, "Well you put it that way and it almost makes me regret saying what I'm about to suggest..."

Mackenzie crossed her arms, "You have plans for this weekend that don't involve staying in bed for 48 hours? And stop stalling! I need help with how I'm going to explain this to my Mother!"

Will opened his mouth but froze without saying anything, instead sighing deeply, "Yeah..." He eventually released. "I was thinking, what if you don't call your parents..."

"Will!" Mackenzie cut him off, "Have you not heard a thing I said?!"

He held up a placating hand, "Wait, listen, listen for a sec...What if instead of calling your parents we wait until after the show on Friday and then we fly to London?"

Mackenzie's jaw dropped.

Will took advantage of the silence, turning the phone so she could see the flight information visible on the screen, "There is a flight that leaves at 11 from JFK on Friday night. We should be able to make it no problem especially if we don't check any luggage. And then there is another which leaves Heathrow at 2 on Sunday and would have us home about midnight. We could sleep on the plane, be at the country house by noon on Saturday. We could even get your brother in on it and surprise them for lunch, the way normal couples share good news with their families."

Mackenzie blinked at him dumbly for a long, quiet moment.

"Mac? Mac? What do you think Mac?" Will leaned forward trying to get a response from her. Her eyes suddenly locked on his and she leaned over the narrow table crashing her lips to his, wrapping her hand around the back of his head and pulling him closer to her.

After a long moment during which at least one other patron in the small coffee shop let out a low wolf whistle, Mackenzie slowly broke the kiss and settled herself back in to her chair and picked up her silver ware, popping a piece of pancake into her mouth.

"That sounds like a perfect plan Will, thank you." she stated calmly. She looked up to see he had not moved, and she smiled at him, "Will, Honey, your shirt is in your ketchup."

He nodded slowly and sank back into his chair. "I'll uh, just, you know..." he gestured awkwardly to his phone, "Book the tickets then...for that...uh...yeah."

She smiled at him, "Sounds wonderful."


	4. Chapter 4

They finished brunch without further incident and with 20 minutes left before the first pitch meeting of the day they elected to walk back to the studio, Will grabbing Mackenzie's hand the moment they were out on the sidewalk.

"We assumed we'd all be unemployed by now and haven't had too many of our usual long term planning discussions recently. We should try to carve out some time today to sit with Jim and come up with a sketch for the rest of the week, month and year and then get some time with Charlie before the end of the week." Mackenzie mused while they walked.

Will nodded, "Well actually we need to do that pretty much as soon as you're able after the meeting today."

She looked up at him, "Why?"

He gave her a smirk, "I haven't told you about step 3."

She shook her head, "Step 3?"

He nodded seriously, "Yep. McAvoy's multi step plan to getting News Night back on track. Step 1 was talking to all the other networks to try and minimize the damage of the nonsense in the complaint, Step 2 is to get myself out there talking about the truth and the show as much as possible and now there is Step 3, which starts tomorrow night."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What is Step 3?"

He gave her hand a quick squeeze, "Step 3 is to fill the show with big name guests and panelists. It has two benefits; first, simple numbers. The right guests will bring viewers who care about what that guest has to say and will tune in regardless of the network, show or anchor. The second is secondary integrity. If the public trusts a certain guest, to an extent their willingness to come on the show is an endorsement of the show itself and we can hopefully start pushing those trustworthy numbers back up into something less than fatal. I'll have to hold off on too much controversial editorial for a while but we won't have to revert to covering complete nonsense. We can do substantive news."

Mackenzie nodded, "That sounds great Will, but there is the little problem of who are we going to book. We're radio active. No one wants to be seen with us right now."

Will smiled, "Weaklings and people who have things to loose don't want to be seen with us right now. But there are others out there."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Will, what did you mean when you said Step 3 starts tomorrow night? What did you do?"

He shrugged, "Well, I called David Patreaus."

Mac stopped walking, "What?"

Will nodded and gave her hand a slight pull to get her walking again, "He and Charlie know each other from way back in whenever. I think Charlie actually knew his parents from when he was in Brooklyn or something. But I've also met him a few times socially so I called him up. I told him we knew that he was about to resign and despite being offered sources we had declined and then I offered him to come on the show as a venue to get his story out there in a way that would give him more control than just a press statement. It did take a little pushing but he agreed. He's formally submitting his resignation to the President tomorrow morning and then he'll head to the DC bureau do the show via satellite tomorrow night. I'll let him say whatever it is he wants to say about the circumstances of his resignation and then I get to ask him about what he sees as the future of US military operations in Asia and the middle East and he'll allow me a narrow inquiry regarding Benghazi."

Mac nodded, "Wow Will. That'll be fantastic. Not only is he a guest who will absolutely pull in viewers but he's a respected military leader and a Republican. We'll definitely need to do prep work for that. God, tomorrow?! Will, there's not enough time!"

He smiled and gave her hand a tug so she stumbled forward and into him and he put out his arm, tucking her firmly into his side. "We'll have time. If you want to worry about prepping for something how about you worry about the Secretary of State next Tuesday?"

This time when Mac stopped walking it was with enough force to keep Will stationary as well. "WHAT?"

"You know you're cute when you get all yelling about something." He smirked at her.

"Don't be patronizing, you ass." She reprimanded, "Did you just say Hillary Clinton agreed to come on the show next Tuesday?"

Will nodded. "Yes. And she wants a no holds barred interview. We're going to have to do our homework."

"In person or live feed?" Mackenzie's producer side was quick to kick in, mentally listing the requirements for either option.

"In person. She's going to be in town any way." Will confirmed, "I honestly called her office because there is a rumor that either the DoD or the State Department will be targeting Dantana in their own case and I wanted to know if there was any truth to it. Long story short, I ended up talking to her about a few different things and took a shot by mentioning I'm try to stack the show with some power house guests. She mostly wants this Benghazi discussion to move away from the altered talking points and focus on embassy staff and big picture things. She told me she's certain one of the ways to move past all this is to survive a tough questioning. Then she said despite Genoa she still only trusts News Night to give her a tough but honest and fair interview. Just as you predicted at that very first 2.0 meeting; the format appeals to the best guests."

Mac looked up at him with wide eyes and a slow smile crossing her face. "Wow Will. That's...amazing to hear."

He grinned down at her, "I told you that this was all worth fighting for."

She nodded, "You're absolutely right and I'm so glad. Even if this is going to be a phenomenal amount of work in a short period. You don't have any other tricks up your sleeve, do you?"

Will looked over her shoulder, "Well..."

"Will?" She poked him in the chest, "You tell me right now."

He swatted her hand from his chest, again wrapping it his own and giving a pull, "Okay, but you need to stop stopping or we're going to be late for today."

She nodded and began following along, "Okay, what else have you been busy working on?"

He took a deep breath, "I really needed to grovel for this but President Bush, 41st not 43rd, agreed to do an hour special. He wants to record it at his home in Kennebunkport the week of Thanksgiving and then have it air the Sunday after. He's willing to discuss his take on current military operations including troop deployment versus drones, willing to reflect on Petraus as CIA director and as well as his own thoughts on Benghazi and the war on terror and his take on the state of security across the globe. He also wants to talk about the election and the divisive tone of politics. Which is why he wants it around Thanksgiving; he wants the whole thing to be themed about what is right in America and how to get back to a functional government that compromises and opposing parties that respect each other. He wants the whole thing to have a positive tone and message."

Mackenzie shook her head, "That sounds phenomenal Will, really it does. It hits everything we need to be doing to reestablish the show and you as a brand but how are we supposed to do it? That's a massive project and we have barely 2 weeks."

Will shrugged, "Well, I figure the Wednesday before Thanksgiving we give the show to Elliot and Don. You, me, Jim and a couple other APs head up to Maine and record the interview. We stay over in Maine on Wednesday night and I'll treat everyone to a New England Thanksgiving dinner and then we'll come back and put the thing together on Friday. Glenn and Peter were already splitting the prime time broadcasts on Thursday and Friday anyway so it's not like we would have our own show to prep for and if we go at it full tilt we could have the whole thing assembled on Friday and have Saturday and most of Sunday off."

Mackenzie nodded, "Yeah..." Will watched as her eyes trailed off as her mind began piecing the project together. "Martin should come along. May be Gary too." She suggested.

Will agreed, "We can ask. They're all talented, let's figure out who doesn't have plans for Thanksgiving. I don't want to take anyone from their families. Besides they'll be plenty of other work we'll need people to get started on while we're away on Wednesday."

Mackenzie nodded, "Right. Wait...what? Will? Who else have you been talking to? This is all great but you're driving me crazy!"

Will smiled, "I just called one more person, I swear."

Mac shook her head, "Who was it?"

"Joe Biden." Will shrugged. "We need a lot of lead time for the secret service and his schedule but he said he'll come up some time before Christmas, content to be decided upon later. We talked a little while, you know he's feeling pretty good since the election last night so I let him ramble for a bit and we just were chatting about life so I mentioned that you and I got engaged last night..."

"Will!" Mackenzie gasped, "Were you seriously gossiping about our engagement with the Vice President of the United States?"

He shook his head, "No, I was bragging to an old softball buddy of mine who happens to be the Vice President of the United States."

Mackenzie rolled her eyes. "Sorry, of course. Thank you very much for the clarification."

"Hold on Missy," Will antagonized, "You didn't let me finish the story."

Mackenzie shook her head but said nothing.

"Anyway," Will continued, "I told him about the engagement and he said he wants to get us a wedding present so he's going to lean on the president and try to convince him to do an exclusive hour special with us right around the time of the inauguration."

Mac's step hesitated but she kept moving after a quick glare from Will. She scrunched up her face in concentration, "So you mean to tell me that over the course of the morning you booked us exclusives with David Patreaus, Hillary Clinton, Bush 41, Joe Biden and potentially an inauguration special with Barack Obama?"

Will nodded his head, "Now you can understand why I'm tired."

"I could understand why you were tired beforehand, now I'm having a hard time understanding why you're still standing." She quipped.

He smiled, "I told you..."

"You're a medical marvel..." Mac parroted back with a roll of her eyes as she pulled open the glass doors to the AWM building.


	5. Chapter 5

The afternoon had flown by. Energized and eager to move forward most of the staff had already been at work for more than an hour by the time the first meeting started and it was all Will and Mackenzie could do to focus the energy into stories that were relevant and reasonable.

As soon as the pitch meeting concluded Will moved from one meeting to another; a planning meeting with Mac and Jim, a guest prep meeting with Kendra and Martin, a prime time concept meeting with Sloan, Elliot, Don, Mac and Jerry (Sloan's EP of the month), a legal meeting with Reese, Rebecca and Charlie followed immediately by a PR strategy meeting with Charlie and Scott.

It was after 5 by the time he was finally able to lock himself in his office to start his script for the evening. The problem was it was also the first time all day he had really stopped and without the hum of adrenaline in his veins he was suddenly reminded of how exhausted he was. He found himself having difficulty focusing on putting words on the page. The cursor blinked at him mockingly and he rolled his head back, groaning.

Mackenzie breezed into the room without knocking, a folder in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Does no one knock any more?" He groused more sharply than he intended.

Mackenzie tilted her head, a clear look of pity on her face. "I've never knocked." She retorted unapologetic, "Here drink this."

"Is it poison?" He muttered reaching for the cup of hot liquid and drinking it without waiting for an answer.

Mackenzie sighed and stepped around the desk, leaning against it and facing him, "Why? Do you wish it was?"

He didn't look up from the coffee cradled in his hands, "It would provide an excuse when everyone wonders why I'm an inarticulate moron tonight."

Mackenzie smiled and reached out her hand, pushing Will's hair to the side. "You'll drink this and then another on the way to Stewart's studio. Do the segment there, come back here and take a 30 min nap and then mainline caffeine until the show. You'll be fine."

Will leaned back in his chair, looking up at her with an unsatisfied scowl, "And if I'm napping, when will I finish my script? And how will I answer Rebecca's constant phone calls?"

Mac shrugged, "I'll tell Rebecca to bugger off and you don't need to write a full script; just put together an outline for yourself. Most of the show is going to be video packages with campaign wrap up anyway. We've got Sloan doing the follow up with Colorado and Washington because of the economic impact of the referendums. Really the only parts of the show that needs to be scripted are the 6:10 we're giving to the earthquake in Guatemala and the 2:30 we're going to do on Damascus. That's less than 10 minutes. You'll be fine."

Will grimaced but abstained from further complaining, instead sipping more from his coffee and letting his eyes unabashedly trail down Mackenzie's legs.

He was just about to reach out a hand to find out how far up she might let him go when she hopped forward from the desk and clapped her hands together, "Come on now! You need to change your shirt and start heading up to 51st Street."

Will pouted at the loss of the opportunity but nodded and begrudgingly stood and moved to his bathroom as a satisfied Mackenzie turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Will called out.

Mac gestured over her shoulder, "I have producing to do."

Will nodded, "Yeah, and you have some producing to do in here too."

She bunched her eyebrows in honest confusion, taking a step away from the door and back toward Will, "What do you mean?"

He took advantage of her forward momentum, tugging at her elbow so she fell toward his chest and then spinning them both into the small en suite bathroom.

"Billy!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"

He shrugged, "I thought it was obvious." He ducked his head and began nibbling at her neck.

"Will..." She murmured, intending to force him to focus but quickly loosing her will power.

He smirked into her skin as he nuzzled the collar of her shirt away. "The way I see it," He explained, words punctuated by soft kisses, "I have to be in the green room at 6:15 which means I can leave here by 6 which means I have nearly 30 minutes to change my shirt."

"Mhrm?" Mackenzie's hands had found their way into his hair and she struggled to register the words he was saying.

"So, I was thinking..." His hands settled on to her waist, thumbs pushing up the fabric of her blouse and pressing in to the soft skin underneath, "Seeing as there is so much time, and my creative juices aren't exactly flowing at the moment..." his mouth moved to her ear where he nipped at the lobe, causing Mackenzie to utter a squeak he had so missed hearing, "That perhaps you could help me change my shirt and maybe we'd get other juices flowing instead?"

Mackenzie grabbed his collar and forced his face up so she connect his lips with hers. He stepped forward, pushing her gently until her back was pressed against the wall and his hand began to follow his thumb and push the material of her blouse.

He hadn't gotten far when Mackenzie stilled against him. Her hands dropped from his head and she grabbed his wrist with one hand and pushed against his chest with the other, shaking her head.

Will stilled the upward climb of his hand and pulled back, confusion in his eyes. "Mackenzie?"

She smiled sadly up at him, releasing his wrist and using her hand to stroke the side of his face. "No Will. We're not going to do this like this."

"Ever?" He pouted.

Mackenzie laughed and leaned her forehead into his chest, "You are really a trouble maker William McAvoy."

He nuzzled her hair, "I know. And I want to make some trouble with you."

She wrapped her arms around his chest and leaned back to look up at him, "You're unbelievable."

He shook his head and grinned down at her, "No, I'm just too tired to focus on work or to care about proper workplace behavior."

She rolled her eyes, "That's not what I meant."

The lines in Will's forehead creased, "What do you mean then?"

"It's like you hit a light switch and everything is right back how it was..." She bit her lip, "I told you last night and again this morning, I really am over any doubts I may have had about your sincerity or this being real or permanent...and it feels so good to be held by you, to be kissed by you, to be wanted by you again..."

Will ground his teeth, "But...?"

She sighed and ran her hands over his biceps, "But, it's still overwhelming for me Will. It's been 6 years. We're different. We can't just pick up where we left off."

She could feel the tension seep into his body, watched his eyes fill with something she wasn't able to name, "I know that." He insisted, "I do. And we can start from the beginning if you'd like, dates and asking permission to kiss you as I drop you off outside your door. I just...I don't want to waste any more time doing a dance we've already danced. And it's not like we're really starting from scratch anyway; over the past 3 years we've spent 80 hours a week together, not including after work drinks and late night phone calls. This morning we've decided you're moving in to my place. I know we can't pick up where we left off but I thought we also weren't starting from scratch. Help me now if we're not on the same page Mac."

As he finished speaking she was finally able to identify what it was that had clouded into his eyes; it was fear and it tore her heart. "Oh Billy." She stood on tip toe and kissed him gently on his temple. He closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. "I'm so sorry, that wasn't what I meant to say at all."

He opened his eyes and gazed into hers "Then what? You've got to help me out here."

She smiled gently and placed her hands on his chest, "I just meant that the first time that we have sex again I feel like it needs to be something more than a quickie in your office bathroom. I don't mean rose petals and candles but I do want to be in a bed, with plenty of time for me to explore and get reacquainted with your body and for you to have time to get reacquainted with mine. I don't want to be rushed, I want to seduce and be seduced and have multiple orgasms. I want to be able to fall asleep entwined with you and share a shower in the morning. We're not in the middle of the relationship where sex can be something we do just to kill time or relieve some stress. We're just starting our relationship, perhaps unorthodoxically but still, sex needs to just be something special for a little bit. And I'm not saying we need to wait, I've brought a bag and plan on going home with you to your place tonight. I just don't want it to be here in an ACN bathroom. Does that make sense?"

Will swallowed and nodded seriously, his eyes wide and pupils dilated. Mackenzie smiled at him, "You're okay with that?"

Will licked his lips and he nodded again and when he spoke his voice was hoarse, "That sounds good."

"Yeah?" Mackenzie teased.

"Oh yeah. You haven't been in my new shower yet." A wicked grin began to form on his face, "I am very much on board with the Mackenzie Mchale Plan for An Evening of Sexcapades."

She hit him on the chest, "That's not what I said!"

"It's what I'm calling it." He rebuked.

She shook her head, "Whatever. Change your shirt already."

"You want to watch?" He prodded with a grin.

Mackenzie surprised him by beginning to unbutton his top buttons. "I'll do more than that, I'll help get you started."

It took every fiber of self control for Will to not pull her toward him and resume their passionate embrace as she slowly made her way down his shirt, taking her time with each button. When she got to the last button she flicked him a coy smile and her hand dropped to gently squeeze him through his pants where he was still hard.

Without removing her hand she stretched up to plant a slow, closed mouth kiss to his lips, "Nice to see age hasn't changed you Billy." She whispered.

Before he could kick his brain into formulating a response she had stepped away and was leaving the room, "Call me when you're ready to head out. I'll be in the conference room or Sloan's office."

And with a wink she shut the door behind her leaving a flustered Will to his own devices.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're honestly telling me that cable news isn't absolutely terrible for the voting American public?"

"The absolute opposite. Cable news can be greatly beneficial to the American public. Network news is great but they have limited time thus limited scope. Cable news networks have more time to dig into all the different angles of a story and really provide the context voters need to make informed opinions on an issue."

Mackenzie was sitting on the couch with her legs tucked into the oversized Jets sweatshirt she was wearing. She was sipping on a glass of wine and watching Will's appearance on the Daily Show while the man himself was sleeping soundly in the next room.

The broadcast earlier that evening had gone smoothly although anyone who knew what to look for could see that Will was exhausted and operating nearly on auto pilot. Mackenzie had met Will in his office as soon as he was done changing and the two of them wasted no time leaving the studio.

Of course his exhaustion had not been enough to stop him from trapping her against the wall of the AWM elevator and whispering into her ear how he intended on seducing her as soon as they were back to the apartment. Their hands lay clasped together on the seat between them, her thumb smoothing circles into his skin for the 15 minute drive to Hudson St.

The elevator doors had barely closed behind them when Will again put his arms around Mackenzie, this time not stopping with words, his lips going to work along her cheek bone and neck while his hands held her tightly to him. She eagerly reciprocated, tangling her hands in his hair as they moved into the foyer without seperating and he backed her up against the closest wall.

Mackenzie was about to suggest they move to the bed room when she realized Will's lips had slowed and were barely moving against her skin and although his hands had found their way under the fabric of her blouse, they had stilled so that he held her more in a comforting hug as opposed to a lover's embrace. She pushed away from him, ignoring his grunt in protest. Reading the desire in his eyes, she bit her lip and sadly shook her head. "Will, Hon, you're exhausted."

He closed his eyes and pushed against her, again burying his face in the crook of her neck, "So?" He mumbled into her hair.

She kissed the side of his face. "Come on. It's your turn to get some sleep."

He shook his head but made no effort to move from his position, breathing deeply and pulling Mac closer to him.

She stroked his hair, "Will. You know you can't fall asleep here. I can't hold you up."

"Mhrm." He muttered unintelligibly, still not moving.

Rolling her eyes Mac reached under his shirt and gave a little pinch to the skin she found there.

Will yelped and straightened, pulling himself from her reach, "What the hell?!"

Mac shook her head, "You were about to fall asleep on me, standing in the hall, in the middle of a make out session."

"Was not." He shot back.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I want you, we've waited a long time..." He nearly whined, reaching out a hand to stroke her arm and trying to pull her toward him.

She shook her head and stood her ground, "And I want you too. But I also want you to be healthy. You took care of me and made me get some sleep last night, now I'm doing the same to you. Get some sleep; they're will be plenty of time for everything else later which is good because I'm sure it will be better when you're not half comatose the whole time."

Will tried once more to pull her to him but she didn't budge.

He sighed, "What are you going to do?"

She smiled, "I'll get ready for bed too but I want to stay up and watch you on Stewart. Then I'll go to bed and will be there when you wake up in the morning."

He leaned in kissing the tip of her nose, "We have got to be the lamest engaged people ever."

She shook her head, "I know. But I believe we'll make up for it in the very near future."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow, "You should tell me about it."

"May be it will be your bed time story. Come on, let's get you tucked in." She smiled stepping back and pulling him by the hand to the bedroom.

Despite her unfulfilled ache of longing Mackenzie was glad she had stood her ground as she watched Will fall asleep mid sentence less than a minute after his head hit the pillow. She sat on the edge of the bed stroking his hair, just needing to touch him. She let her eyes wander around the room, _their _room.

She began making mental lists of what she wanted to do to make it feel more like home for her. She wondered if they really needed to move; she would hate to give up that view, but she truly wanted to restart this relationship on equal standing and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to really settle in to his apartment. She broke off her musings when the clock reminded her she wanted to catch the late night comedy news program.

Now she sat smiling, watching him spar with the comedian and discuss the impact of cable news on the election.

"Of course with 24 hours to fill it's not always easy to be substantive or not repeat yourself" Will was explaining, "and it makes room for a lot of editorializing but I firmly believe that informed editorializing is not a bad thing, and neither do you because that's what you do here."

Jon was shaking his head, "No, what I do here is a comedy show."

Will waved a hand, "That's bull and you know it. Yes, it's a comedy show but you can't look at me with a straight face and tell me that it's not an editorial news program. You're hyperbolic and couch the substance of an issue in humorous terms but you're a smart guy and you can't plead ignorance regarding the role your program plays in reaching out and influencing the minds of the electorate. How many views and shares do your clips get on the internet? How much do your rating spike during election seasons?"

Jon held up his hands, "Okay, may be that's fair. But here's the difference," He leaned across the desk, pen in hand, "We are always up front that we see ourselves as a comedy program first. We don't over reach, lie or obfuscate about what we're trying to do here."

"Hold on!" Will sat up straight.

Jon wouldn't let him interrupt, "Not saying that you do as an individual but as a whole the cable news networks like to paint themselves with a veneer that just doesn't hold up. There's Fox's claim to be fair and balanced. Then you have CNN which is an exercise in speculation and conjecture and mea culpas calling themselves the most trusted name in news. Your own network, in fact your own show, tells the viewership that you provide professional, reasonable, rational, logical versions of facts and news but just today in a complaint regarding the most massive falsehood perpetrated by a news program, it was revealed that ACN is as dysfunctional as could be imagined."

Mac took a deep sip of her wine, anticipating Will's reaction.

The camera focused on him as he raised his eyebrows, a small smirk on his lips, "What is it you want me to address there Jon?"

Stewart gesticulated with his pen, "Fox and CNN aside, I spend enough air time on those clusterstorms as it is. What I want to know from you is how is it responsible to trust some place like ACN to be the tool which we use to inform the electorate when you can't even keep your own house in order? If the people putting together these newscasts are caught up in complete chaos behind the camera than how are we supposed to trust the reporting?"

Will's gaze was steely and he took a moment before starting his response. "What happens with my staff really is no one's concern. It's been the same staff for 3 years now and they have done amazing reporting work; you know how I know? Because since the BP Oil Spill, which coincidentally was the same day this staff started assembling, you have hardly mentioned us. Elliot Hirsch told me a year or two ago, 'If the Daily Show's not mocking you then you must be doing something right' and I think that's a reasonable observation."

Jon smirked, "Yes, well, we do prefer the taste of insanity in our targets."

Will nodded, "Exactly. Over the past three years our reporting has stood up. Even in fast paced breaking news our team's commitment to the facts above all else has resulted in the most consistently accurate reporting on television and until 2 months ago we far and away held the highest trust numbers."

"Until you accused the US Military of a fictional war crime." Jon deadpanned.

Will nodded, "Yeah. That was not good." He gave a self deprecating grin and the studio audience laughed at the understatement.

"But," Will continued, "Even that is a demonstration of the kind of news people we have on our team. We had the first hand account and the infamous 'doctored tape' for nearly a year before we finally decided to air the story. We ran it through multiple panels of reporters trying to poke holes in it and involved a half dozen lawyers. I honestly believe the team operated far more responsibly and with far more restraint than many others in our industry."

Jon looked like he wanted to interrupt but Will was on a roll and was not about to let him get a word in edgewise, "One arrogant and ambitious guy doctored raw footage. That's what it comes down to. Had it not been for that interview, we never would have gone to air. We needed each piece of the story before the story was deemed ready. That's all there is to it and that's all that's relevant when it comes to discussing how ACN approaches a story."

Jon nodded, "But that's not all that was in the complaint filed at the magistrate's this morning."

Will rolled his eyes, "That's fodder. Distractions and tools for the lawyers submitting the case. Honestly, what relevance is it? Who cares if one AP has a crush on another? Who cares if an embed made a stupid bet and broke his ankle? What is the relevance that Sloan Sabbith punched an ex boyfriend who publicly humiliated her? That complaint is 50 pages long and only 5 of them are of any relevance what so ever. The other 45 were intended as leverage to try and pressure Leona Lansing into settling what is a completely insane lawsuit. No one would argue with us firing Mr. Dantana. He's trying to create this strawman reality."

Jon nodded, "That may be so, but do you disagree that he has a point? That the atmosphere created with in your organization lends itself to being susceptible to fraudulent or misleading reporting? That there is a culture that supports institutional failure?"

Will leaned back in his chair, thinking, "I absolutely disagree. Again, we need to see through what is being constructed. You know, in the complaint he calls me unprofessional and unfit to be managing editor because I stayed on the air the night I learned my father died..." Will paused, biting the inside of his cheek, "I don't think it's unreasonable to wonder what relevance does that have to do with anything? It's just a weak effort by a small person to cause pain to someone else. It has nothing to do with Genoa or the process that brought the Genoa story to air."

He rubbed his fingers on his chin, "Yes, the people in that newsroom are human and life can be messy, especially between those you are closest to but they are phenomenal reporters and they don't deserve to be painted as anything less by anyone. They honestly give their all to provide the voters the information they need in the best form of the argument. I know Genoa was a big, terrible muck up and I am the managing editor, I don't intend to shirk responsibility, I absolutely was the one who said yes, let's put this on the air. But my decision wasn't influenced by anything than I thought we had enough facts and the video was one of the most compelling pieces. The fact that we all were mislead does not detract from the quality of work my people have proven they are capable of. If anything I'd say the atmosphere cultivated in our studio is one the pushes individuals to be the best journalists out there in the truest sense of the word. I've spent the day meeting with most of the staff and I can tell you they are fired up and eager to regain America's trust and I absolutely believe they can do it."

Jon nodded, "Well man, that's good to hear, because you're right, we haven't picked on News Night too much because it is a good program, honestly it's where I get my news when I don't feel like yelling at the TV so I hope you're right."

Will smiled, "Thanks. I do too. As one of my favorite people likes to say 'Nothing is more important to a democracy than a well informed electorate' and that's what we're trying to facilitate and that's why I think cable news is so important even with it's many short comings; regardless of the network."

Jon smirked, "Well you're far more idealistic than I am but I like it! Will McAvoy ladies and gentleman! News Night, week nights at 8 on ACN. Stick around, we'll be right back with your moment of zen."

Mackenzie picked up the remote and shut off the television, she bit her lip and hugged her knees tightly. Will's unabashed defense of their staff filled her heart to the point she was certain it would burst. She wiped away the moisture in her eyes on the sweatshirt and unfolded herself from the couch and moved quietly back to the bedroom.

Careful to keep from waking him she climbed on to the mattress and pulled herself tightly to his sleeping form, as if the physical ache of love in her heart could be soothed by his shear proximity. She nuzzled her face into his chest, kissing him lightly through his shirt as his arms unconsciously wrapped themselves around her and he sighed with deep contentment.

"You're a good man Will McAvoy." She whispered, "I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning Will was still sound asleep when Mackenzie woke. Somewhere in her imagination she had hoped they might be able to use the morning to pick up where they left off last night but she wasn't about to disturb his sleep any earlier than he needed, despite the fact that he probably wouldn't complain.

She indulged herself watching him for a few minutes but then begrudgingly decided the responsible thing to do was to begin getting ready for work.

When she got out of the shower (he was right, it was a very nice shower which inspired her imagination to anticipate future mornings together) and returned to the bedroom she was surprised to hear Will muttering in his sleep, when they were together before he was usually a very quiet sleeper. She stepped closer to the bed expecting him to be waking up but he was still very much asleep and in obvious distress; his brow was furrowed and he was frowning and jerking his head.

She bit her lip, unsure if she should wake him. When she heard him actually whimper she quickly made up her mind.

"Will...Will...Billy, wake up." She reached out to still him by grabbing his shoulders but drew back when he flinched at her touch. She looked around, unsure of what to do. She set her shoulders and with resolve she reached out to him again, this time stilling his movements by placing her hands on either side of his face.

"Come on Billy, you're dreaming. It's okay, wake up." He flinched again and when they opened his blue eyes were wide and fearful and he pushed himself back into the pillow, breathing shallowly.

"Will?" She asked gently, her thumbs gently rubbing his cheeks.

He blinked and relaxed, eyes roving around the room before landing back on Mackenzie. He released a breath and nodded gently.

"Good morning." He mumbled, his voice shaky and rough.

Mackenzie sat back, letting her hands fall to his chest, "Doesn't look that way."

Will shook his head, "It was nothing."

Mac looked at him sympathetically, "You want to talk about it?"

"No." He replied shortly, pushing himself up and shuffling off the mattress.

Mackenzie remained perched on the edge of the bed, twining her fingers together as she watched him roll out his muscles and move around the room. "Do you remember what it was about?" She pushed again.

"Mac! I don't want to talk about it. It was nothing." He snapped.

She raised her eyebrows, "Which is it Billy? Nothing or you don't want to talk about it?"

He rolled his eyes and let out a deflating huff, "Just...just leave it alone. Please?"

Mackenzie stared back at him, completely confused, "Will, I just..."

"Please, Mac." He cut her off and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaving Mac absolutely bewildered.

* * *

The car ride into the office was tensely quiet as was the elevator ride up to the 25th floor.

As they watched the numbers rise Mackenzie risked breaking the silence, "I'm thinking of going to the coffee stand in Bryant Park after the papers, would you like to join me?"

Will shook his head, "I'm going to be locked in interview prep with Jim and Gary."

"Ah." Mac nodded quietly, directing her eyes straight ahead.

They exited the elevators and Mac turned toward the offices.

"Mac?" Will called quietly from behind her just before she turned the corner.

She stopped and turned around. He stood unmoving outside of the elevator, just staring at her.

"What is it Will? We came into work early for a reason. There is stuff to do." She prodded him tersely.

He sighed, his shoulders dropping, "I'm sorry. About...this morning, I'm sorry."

She swallowed and clutched at the shoulder strap of her bag, "Will, we're at work now. It's not the time conversations like this."

He smirked and stepped closer to her, "Since when have we kept our personal lives out of the workplace?"

"Will..." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

The smirk fell from his face and his eyes grew serious, "I know. And I don't really want a conversation. I just wanted to say you're right; it's not nothing but I really don't want to talk about it. I just didn't want to start the day without saying I love you."

"Will. You can't just..." She trailed off, unsure of what it was she wanted to say to him.

He looked away and down and she bit her lip.

She sighed and reached her hand out and he raised his head looking back up at her and immediately clasping her hand in his.

"If it wasn't nothing I'm not going to let you get away with not talking to me about it. But I'll wait because I love you too." She punctuated with a quick kiss to his cheek.

Will smiled appreciatively and they moved into the bull pen holding hands, Will giving her a quick squeeze before letting go and disappearing into his office.

Mackenzie barely had the opportunity to open the Times before Sloan was in her office and sitting in the chair across from her, a wide grin on her face.

"So..." She instigated.

Mackenzie looked up at her friend at an absolute loss, "So? What So?"

Sloan gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes, "Come on Kenzie! You and Will...last night...?" The economist shifted in her chair, "I mean, I don't really want details; it's Will after all and I don't think I could handle that image but you've got to give me something. Was it amazing? Awkward? Like you remembered?" She tacked on in a sing-song voice.

"Last night the two of you practically ran out of the building and this morning you come in disgustingly sweetly holding hands. You have got to be bursting at the seams to share a little about what happened. Come on..."

Sloan bounced her eyebrows and smiled wickedly at Mackenzie who simply rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Sloan."

"Oh come on!" She pouted.

Mac smiled in amusement, "Sloan, I'm sorry but unfortunately there's nothing to tell."

The other woman deflated, "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Mackenzie gave a small smile, "No. He was exhausted. Not that he didn't try mind you..."

Sloan's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth, "No! You mean, he couldn't get it..."

"_NO_!" Mackenzie shouted waving her hands in front of her, then with a smirk, "That has never been a problem. God, even when the man was recovering from TB and could barely breath it wasn't a problem. He's absolutely incorrigible and that certainly hasn't changed. I just meant that I could tell he was ready to fall asleep standing up as we were kissing in the foyer so I made him stop and just go to bed; much to his chagrin. I stayed up and watched the Daily Show."

Sloan grimaced but nodded, "I watched too. He did really well."

Mac smiled softly to herself, remembering his defense of the staff, "Yes he did."

Sloan bit her lip, "So this morning..."

Mac shook her head, "No Sloan, I'm sorry. Nothing exciting for you there."

Sloan harrumphed, crossed her arms and sat back in the chair.

Mackenzie smirked at her, "What about you and Don?"

Sloan rolled her eyes, "That Jackass? He's trying to be all gentleman-y or something. We met to have breakfast and lunch together yesterday and drinks last night but then it was back home alone. He says he wants to "woo" me. What part of me walking in to the control room and kissing him says that he hasn't already wooed me? I'm thinking I'm going to have to go caveman and drag him by the hair back to my cave."

Mac tilted her head and squinted her eyes but said nothing at Sloan's odd choice of metaphor.

Sloan shook her head, "Men are very difficult creatures Kenzie."

"You're telling me." Mac murmured.

Sloan tilted her head, "What? What's going on?"

Mac bit her lip, looking to the door and ensuring no one was about to walk in. She looked back to Sloan, hesitating before she finally explained, "Will had a bad dream this morning. Like a really bad dream. I had to wake him. But he won't talk to me about it."

Sloan just stared at her, waiting a long moment before asking, "That's it?"

Mac's eyebrows knitted, "What do you mean that's it?"

"You're worried because he won't tell you about a dream he had?" Sloan tilted her head, "Kenzie, that's not a big deal and you can't go making big deals out of things that aren't. That's a sure fire way to get called crazy lady."

Mac rolled her eyes in disgust.

Sloan leaned over the desk and put her hand on Mac's forearm, "Seriously Mac. No one in this building doubts that he loves you; no one has doubted he loves you for much longer than just Tuesday night. You can't let your subconscious doubts create problems where there are none."

Mackenzie stared at her friend for a long moment, digesting her words and reviewing her thoughts. "You're probably right."

She nodded. Sloan was probably right.

Probably.


	8. Chapter 8

Mac didn't see Will again until that afternoon when she heard Rebecca Halliday's voice in the bull pen, "William McAvoy! You will be lucky if I don't eviscerate you!"

Mackenzie stepped out of her office in time to see the lawyer storming through his door. She quickly followed.

"I mean seriously were you thinking at all? You're a lawyer and I didn't figure you for a stupid one!" Rebecca was leaning over his desk while an obviously unconcerned Will leaned back in his chair, waiting for her to finish.

"You're lucky, you know that?" Rebecca continued, "You walked a fine line. God!"

"What's going on here?" Mackenzie asked from the doorway.

Will shot her a grin, "I believe Ms. Halliday watched my appearance on the Daily Show."

Mackenzie paused for a moment, processing the implications. She figured it out quickly and immediately defended Wills' actions, "First of all Rebecca, he didn't say anything that isn't what you're going to be arguing anyway and secondly he didn't know that's where the questions would end up going."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Of course that's where the questions were going to go. Stewart wasn't going to give up an opportunity to try and make a mockery of cable news! That's what he does! Damn it Will, you could have given Dantana's legal team who knows what kind of ammunition! what were you thinking?!"

He shrugged, "Can I say the Secretary of State told me to?"

Rebecca stared at him in disbelief, "Not unless it's true."

"It is." He assured her. "Well, it kind of is. Not really but I did get the idea from her."

Rebecca deposited herself in a chair, "This, I need to hear." She taunted, not amused.

Will shrugged, "She's coming on the show next week because she wants to survive a tough interview as a tactic for getting past Benghazi. So I figured I could do the same for us and Genoa." He straightened in his chair, "I will admit when I booked the interview I was thinking more from a PR standpoint than a legal standpoint and for that you're right and I'm sorry but I also tried to be very careful with my answers and don't think I caused us any trouble."

Rebecca sighed, "No, I don't think you did either. But again, you were lucky. Don't do it again."

Will rolled his eyes and sent Mac a wink, "Yes Ma'am."

Rebecca nodded, "That's right, you better yes Ma'am me. And you," she rotated and pointed at Mackenzie, "I'm going to need you to keep him in line. Just...don't let him talk to anyone."

Mackenzie smiled, "I don't think I can promise you that. But I'll keep my eyes on him."

Will smiled broadly at her, any traces of the morning's tension either forgotten or consciously hidden away.

"Well, I do have another issue for you..." Rebecca readjusted herself in the chair, "Nina Howard was just added to Dantana's witness list."

Mackenzie's eyes flew to Will who was clenching his teeth and taking a long slow blink.

"Do we know why?" He finally asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Rebecca volleyed back.

He looked away, avoiding Mackenzie's eye contact. "Oh...there are a few things I can imagine. All nonsense stuff just designed to make me look bad."

Rebecca nodded slowly, "Yes, I assumed as much. I need you to tell me what they are."

Will grimaced and flicked his eyes over to Mackenzie who had settled herself against the table in his office, obviously not leaving unless he asked her to; something he was smart enough not to do.

He picked up a cigarette and but froze his motion mid way to his lips, dropping his hand and tapping the paper tube distractedly on the desk. He looked up into Rebecca's patiently waiting gaze and sighed.

"Well I suppose she could claim to think I'm unstable. I think I took her by complete surprise when I broke up with her and I was kind of angry when I did."

"When was this?" Rebecca asked patiently.

"The end of March." He replied automatically, "Actually, March 22nd. The same day Dantana interviewed the General."

He looked over to Mackenzie to gauge her reaction. She didn't know much about his relationship with Nina. She had found out about it more than a month after he had started seeing her and it wasn't until the middle of April that she found out that the relationship was over after she had questioned Will how Nina felt about him spending a late night at Hang Chews with his ex-girlfriend. He had simply replied that he and Nina didn't work out and he was embracing bachelorhood. Mac never knew who had broken it off with whom, when or why.

At the moment she was sitting there quietly, no emotion reflected in her expression.

Rebecca nodded, "Can you give me the circumstances of the break up?"

"Do I have to?" Will complained.

"Well seeing as your ex is going to be in my courtroom and I don't know what she's going to say? Yes. Yes you do." She shot back.

Will rolled his eyes and looked at the desk, "You're not going to get it."

"I don't care." Rebecca retorted.

He cracked his neck, "She kept telling me I needed to change what I was doing at work to bring up my likability numbers and then pushed me to go on ACN morning like an idiot. Mid way through the segment I realized she was wrong and I was wrong for listening to her. In typical loose temper fashion I got off the air and dumped her right there in the green room. She wasn't right for me."

"Obviously." Rebecca remarked dryly.

Will ignored her, keeping his eyes on Mackenzie who was biting her lip and he could see something simmering in her eyes. He sighed and looked back down at the desk.

Rebecca nodded, "Okay. So we think that she'd probably being brought in to add to the narrative that you're unstable and motivated by ratings?"

Will nodded, "Yeah..."

"That's it?"

He nodded again, "Yeah." He looked back to Mackenzie and sighed, "Actually no. Probably not."

Rebecca shook her head, "Stop screwing with me McAvoy."

He shrugged, "I'm not trying to. This isn't exactly an enjoyable conversation."

Mackenzie shifted, "You can ask me to leave if you want to Will." She offered.

His eyes met hers for a long gaze until he broke it with a sigh. "No. No need for secrets, right?"

Mackenzie wrapped her arms around herself and returned to her position, leaning against the table.

Will looked at Rebecca, "I however, would love it if you would leave?"

The lawyer shook her head, "Not a chance. Now spill it."

He licked his lips and let out a breath, "Well, beyond extolling my arrogance she's also going to probably cite me for being unethical because of some attempted bribery and then she'll also say my judgement is regularly compromised because of my feelings for Mac."

Both ladies in the room raised their eyebrows. Rebecca cleared her throat, "Let's start with the potentially criminal one...bribery?"

Will sighed, "A couple of years ago Nina was coming out with some stories, a couple of them targeting Mac and she was about to write a really bad one. I heard that she sometimes took shush money so I went to meet her."

"Billy!" Mac shouted. "I told you not to! You said you wouldn't!"

He held up his hands, "I know! But you told me that after I had already met with her."

"What..." Mackenzie began but Rebecca cut her off. "Sorry dear but I need to keep this focused. Will. You said _attempted_ bribery. You did not actually end up paying her?"

He shook his head, "No. I was going to. Started to write the check out and everything but then she pissed me off with something she said so I voided the check and threatened her instead."

Mackenzie stared at him, completely frozen.

"Well that's certainly better." Muttered Rebecca sarcastically.

Will straightened up quickly, "_God, no!_ No, not, no. Not, you know, _violence_ threaten. You have to know that's not what I meant. I didn't..._I wouldn't_..."

"We know Will. We know." Mackenzie interrupted him and he stared at her with the same wide, panicked eyes that met her when she woke him that morning.

"I wouldn't." He repeated.

"I know." Mackenzie again assured him.

He nodded and took a deep breath.

Rebecca looked between the two of them, "Okay, so what did you mean by threatened?"

Will looked back at the lawyer and breathed, "You know the old adage; never pick a fight with someone who orders ink by the barrel? I just pointed out I have an hour of prime time and I would have no problem using my soapbox to tear down her and anyone she was working for if she reported something I didn't like about anyone on the staff."

He made knowing eye contact with Rebecca who nodded slightly. "Okay."

He glanced over at Mackenzie who, though still tensed, nodded slightly back at him, "What was the story?" She asked quietly.

"Hrm?" Will replied, giving her a chance to rethink her question.

She didn't. "Tell me Will."

He swallowed and looked at her with sad eyes. "Islamabad."

If there was something she had been expecting, that wasn't it. "What?"

He shrugged, "The angle would have been that I had hired an incompetent EP because of personal feelings. She was going to present the incident in Islamabad as you putting your crew in unnecessary and foreseeable danger. I'm sorry."

Mac just nodded, digesting the information. "Okay...okay."

He looked up at her. "Are you?"

She nodded again. "Yeah. Finish telling Rebecca what she needs to know. We can talk later."

Will gave her a long stare before finally breaking eye contact and returning his attention to Rebecca. She sat quietly, giving him the moment to start again.

He grimaced and took a deep breath.

"God this is like pulling teeth. If I didn't bill by the hour I'd be getting annoyed with it! Out with it already." Rebecca nearly shouted in exasperation.

Will rolled his eyes, "Nina heard a voicemail I tried to leave for Mac. But I don't know if she's going to risk saying anything because the voicemail was hacked and she won't want to admit in court to being party to that kind of crime."

Rebecca nodded, "Okay, well, let's try to be prepared in case she's not that logical, okay? What did the voicemail say?"

Will stared at her for a long moment before breaking into a grin an releasing an amused huff. He looked at Mac who also wore a small, amused grin.

"What's so funny?" Rebecca asked.

Will smirked, "You have no idea how many times Mac has asked me that question. And now I have to say it because a lawyer is making me. It's just demented. I'm sorry Mac, I should have kicked myself in the ass and just told you before it came to this."

Mackenzie shrugged her shoulders, "It's okay Will, Nina actually told me what it said."

Will froze, the amusement instantly gone from his face, "Wait, what? When? And you didn't say anything? I don't...that doesn't...really?" He stared at her, furrowed brow and wide eyes.

Mackenzie frowned at the sudden hurt that crossed Will's face. "I'm sorry, I know it was probably the wrong thing to do to get her to tell me but you weren't saying anything and I thought that you probably never would. I mean I don't understand what the big deal was, it's not like there was anything earth shattering. Were you just enjoying the game of me pestering you?"

Will's eyes narrowed. "Nothing...? No...'enjoying the game' wasn't the only reason."

"What did the message say?" Rebecca repeated.

Without taking his eyes off of Mackenzie, Will answered slowly, "The message said a lot of things. But the meat of the message was when I said something along the lines of 'I really want you to know that I never stopped loving you.'"

Mackenzie's jaw literally dropped open. After a moment of tense silence she whispered, "That's not what Nina said it was."

He shook his head, "No. I didn't think so."

"Well...unless you have any other insights, Will, I think I have what I need." Rebecca interrupter the sudden tension in the room, "This obviously opens a whole new angle they can try and considering recent developments..." She wagged a finger between the two fiances, "It will be close to impossible to deny so be prepared for some courtroom prep meetings that I am sure you will vociferously resent." Rebecca commented, standing and moving to the door.

Will didn't break eye contact with Mackenzie, just nodded his good bye to Rebecca.

After she left the office was quiet.

"Mac?" Will broke the silence.

She bit her lip and looked at him, arms crossed.

"Mac?" He tried again standing from his chair.

She shook her head and held out her hands, indicating that he should stay where he was. "No. Will. Just...there's a lot in my head right now so just..."

Ignoring her hands he stepped closer. "So let's talk about it."

She shook her head and backed away from him, "No. Not now. I need to digest everything on my own first. Okay?"

He opened his mouth, but said nothing, instead nodding stiffly, "Okay." He croaked out.

She gave him a small, sad smile before turning and leaving the small room.

"Fuck." Will breathed as he dropped into one of the chairs next to the table.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Okay...yes...I'm not being kind to the newly engaged couple...a couple more chapters and then I promise a waterfall of fluff and happy! They're trying but it was never going to be easy to go from life as it was to bliss...but they are trying and will get there soon...before the weekend I think..._

* * *

"Mac?" Will hesitated in the doorway, "Can I come in?"

She paused in the middle of the paragraph she was reading, "Shouldn't you be running interview prep?" She asked without looking up.

He eased into her office and leaned against the glass wall, "We're taking a break for now. Everyone's gone for lunch."

Mac nodded still without looking up, "Oh. Okay."

Will looked around the room and licked his lips, "I picked up an extra turkey sandwich. I figured you are probably busy and wouldn't have taken a break."

She sighed and looked up at him.

He shifted uncomfortably, "Can we please have lunch together?"

She took a long moment to just stare back at him and steel herself against the pleading look on his face. She bought herself some time by taking a deep breath. It had been a frustrating morning but he was in her office and she knew she shouldn't be putting up walls when he was obviously trying. With another quiet sigh she nodded her assent and began to clear space on her desk for him to place the sandwiches.

He smiled and quickly pulled up a chair across from her.

They ate quietly until Will put down his sandwich and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry I never told you what was in the voicemail."

She put down her own sandwich and smiled gently at him, "It's okay. I understand."

His eyebrows shot up, "Really?"

"I'm not upset about the voicemail." She shrugged, "I understand you really were just saying it because you were high."

"I wasn't..." He leaned forward in protest but she cut him off.

"You_ were_ Will. I don't doubt the content of the message. I believe that you've never stopped loving me. But you were only able to articulate it and maybe even admit it to yourself because you were high."

He sat back, eyes dropping to the desk. "Well, I'm sorry that's what it took. And I'm sorry I couldn't get out of my own way to tell you when you asked."

She bit her lip, "Time had passed between when you left the voicemail and when I started asking. You went through 3 months of thinking I chose to ignore a message where you told me you loved me. You assumed I rejected you and you put walls back up. I never had understood why things suddenly seemed so tense between us back then but it makes some sense now. Even though I had no idea what was happening I'm sorry you went through that."

He nodded. "I'm sorry you did too. You're right, I was a jackass and I never apologized for it because then I'd have to explain everything. But I am Mac, I'm sorry."

She shrugged sadly, "What's done is done. If we start apologizing for our past transgressions we're never going to get this relationship moving forward."

He smiled, "I still should have told you. Honestly I have been thinking about it the last few days and just had not been able to anticipate how you would react."

Mackenzie nodded and leaned back in her chair, "To be completely honest, I'm pissed at Nina for lying to me and I regret the extra time we've lost getting in our own way and I'm really mad at myself for falling asleep that night and not being awake to just pick up the phone and avoid all of this nonsense. But, now that we're here, with your ring on my finger, how can I be upset about a voicemail where you told me you never stopped loving me? In a strange way it's heartwarming actually."

He smiled softly and nodded his acceptance of her feelings.

She sat back, lost in her own thoughts, still working on putting together the missing pieces of their puzzle.

"Will?"

He looked up at her, "Yeah?"

"The anti-depressants. The prescription you had? When did you start taking them?"

He looked away and took a deep breath.

"Will?" She pushed again.

He licked his lips and his hand began toying with his cup on the desk. Finally he released a long breath and looked up to meet Mackenzie's eyes, "That May."

"Because I never responded to the voicemail?" She asked in a small voice.

Will just nodded.

"Billy?" She asked, still quietly, hesitantly. "Do you still take them?"

He looked at her and sighed, deflating slightly. "Not recently. I still have the prescription. I was on them for a little while this winter but I haven't taken any since I broke up with Nina actually. Although Jack Habib thinks I should actually be taking them regularly. He wanted me to accept the prescription earlier but I refused to admit I needed anything. It wasn't until...you know...the voicemail...that I actually got the prescription filled." He smirked, "Maybe Jack will change that prognosis when I see him next week and tell him about Tuesday night..."

Mackenzie didn't smile back, "Will," she spoke again, firmly, "You haven't taken them since Genoa?"

"No." He shook his head.

She tilted her head, "Why not?"

He shrugged, "There wasn't room for me to indulge in my own depression. Everyone was being so hard on themselves and everyone was trying to take on the blame, from you to Sloan to Maggie; even Jim has been beating himself up and he was the one who held out the hardest with his objections. Someone needed to not be mired down in all that. It's why I put off trying to resign for so long."

Mackenzie allowed a small, fond smirk, "The director of morale...you were protecting our family."

He looked away and cleared his throat, "If you want to put it that way..."

She rolled her eyes, "You can fight all you want to keep up whatever stupid facade you're trying to maintain but someday you're going to have to admit that the cat is out of the bag; everyone knows you love the staff here."

He shifted in his seat and grimaced.

"And I love you for how much you love them." She smiled at him when his eyes flicked back to hers and he smiled gently back.

Too soon Mackenzie's smile faltered and she looked back at her desk, "I should be getting back to work, and so should you. Tonight is a big interview, you should prep."

Will narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, "How come I still feel like you're mad at me?"

Mackenzie rolled her eyes and cleaned the lunch trash off her desk, "I just told you I love you."

"Yeah, and you've loved me for a while now, but that's never stopped you from getting mad at me before. One has nothing to do with the other." He crossed his arms, not moving from his chair.

She shook her head, "Maybe I'm just annoyed at the fact that you are argumentative and full of semantics."

He brushed away her comment with a wave of his hand, "Is it because I wouldn't tell you about my dream this morning?" He guessed.

"No." She replied, "Well, yes, I'm annoyed about that but that's not what's bothering me now."

"What is it?"

She shook her head, "It's really nothing. It was over 6 months ago, I have no reason to be upset about it."

He grabbed her hands, "But you are upset and letting it fester isn't going to help. Just tell me."

She looked away before settling back on his face, "Back in March I didn't get upset at you when you went on ACN Morning or when you were doing those dial tests because I figured it was just some reaction to your Dad passing away. I mean it was less than a week after and suddenly you more focused on the numbers than you had been in months. I excused it because of your Dad but now I find out it's because you were taking advice from Nina about what is best for our show."

"Mac..." He tried to interrupt.

"No Will," She shook her head, "I told you I know this is unreasonable but you wanted to know what I'm feeling and this is it." Will nodded and sat back, giving Mackenzie space to continue.

She took a breath and tried to explain, "I've never stopped loving you either which made it really difficult to see you every day and know we'd never be together again but it was okay because we were partners and for a while it really seemed we had built ourselves to a good place; you were my closest friend Will, and that meant everything to me that we could be that for each other again. Then you started seeing Nina and it felt like the friendship we had built was disappearing. You stopped coming to the bar or calling my phone at random hours at night for completely nonsense reasons."

"You would call me too..." He interrupted with a smirk.

"Those were for good reasons!" She defended, "But that's the point, at a certain point I stopped feeling like I could talk to you outside of work. But it was okay because despite everything else we still had our show and that was always you and me. It just hurts to know that I was replaceable there too."

Will stood and moved around the desk, bracing his hands on the arms of Mac's desk chair, "You're absolutely not replaceable Mac. In any facet of my life. That's the point of the whole story about me breaking it off with her. Taking her advice was a catalyst for me realizing how wrong I was listening to her and how futile it was for me to keep trying to fight against how much I need you in my life."

"I know." Mackenzie nodded, looking down.

"Do you?" He insisted, craning his neck to try and force eye contact.

"Yes." She nodded again, this time keeping her eyes locked with his.

Will scanned her face and sighed, "You're still pissed though?" He leaned back against the desk.

Mac looked down. "I'm sorry. Just for a little bit. I'll get over it and kick the crazy jealous fiance out of my head soon. I promise."

"Yeah?" Will checked.

"Yeah." She looked up at him, a smirk on her face, "I also need to swallow this overdue desire to slap you upside the head for ordering those dial groups and going on that ridiculous show."

He scratched absently at the side of his face, "Yeah, well, the truth of the matter is having paid a little attention to that likability number may have helped us out here now." he mused.

Mackenzie's jaw dropped, "What did you just say?"

He looked back down at her and lifted his hands with open palms, "I'm just saying, when the audience really likes someone they are more liable to forgive their transgressions. Obviously no matter what the numbers were, Genoa was going to cause major damage but perhaps it wouldn't have been so dismal if people thought I was more likable and less smug or something."

Mackenzie shook her head and pushed her chair back and away from him, "You have got to be kidding me. Will. Seriously tell me you're joking right now."

He shook his head earnestly, "I'm not. What do you think I was doing going on the Daily Show and ACN Morning yesterday? You think those appearances weren't about courting the audience?"

"Of course it's about courting the audience because right now we haven't any!" She exclaimed her hands coming up in aimless gestures, "That was just bailing the water out of the boat, not a long term solution. You have got to know the real fix is going to happen with the real reporting we're going to be doing over the next two months. The slate of guests you lined up is going to provide the content which is going to steer the ship back to where we want to be. Tell me you know that."

"I do," He nodded, "I also know that the big thing is with those guests is that they will pull an audience regardless of if we are doing real reporting. Next week we're going to be easily back over a million viewers when Hillary comes on the show; the content doesn't matter. She and I could spend the broadcast sharing our favorite shadow puppets."

He halfheartedly made a rabbit with his right hand which Mackenzie swatted aside in annoyance as she stood up.

"And if you did that no one would stay for the next night's broadcast but there is a chance that if you do have an interview filled with genuine dialogue and strong content people will remember why they liked News Night to begin with and will start coming back on nights without the crazy impressive guests."

Will crossed his arms and leaned forward, "Or perhaps civil, genuine dialogue will just bore the shit out of people so they tune out before the show is even over."

Mackenzie pressed her hands to her face and pulled her fingers through her hair, "_Oh. My God. Will!_ I can _NOT_ believe I am having this same argument with you _AGAIN_. Seriously."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I've admitted that I know it's good for you to reign me in about this sometimes. I'm just saying right now, in this specific moment, we're in crisis mode and numbers matter."

She tilted her head and matched his crossed arms, "Like we were in during the Casey Anthony trial?"

"Hey, do you see me pandering like we did then?" He pantomimed looking around wildly.

"Not yet." She shot back.

He froze and held up his hands, "That's not fair."

"_Seriously_ Will?"

He dropped his shoulders and leaned back with an air of unaffected righteousness. "I'm just saying it's possible to strike a balance. We don't need to report nonsense but perhaps for the time being there is a way to handle our substance in a way that encourages viewership as opposed to completely blowing it off as a consideration at all."

Mackenzie shook her head and grabbed her portfolio and moved to the door, "Yes, well, you let me know when you find that balance Will. I'm going to just keep working with the staff to put together the news."

"Yeah, okay. I'll let you know when Reese tells me how many dozens of people are tuning in." He shouted after her as she left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

The tension was palpable that night in the control room as Mac donned her headset before Will's interview segment with Patreaus. "Remember what you're doing this for."

"Thanks, I really hadn't been aware." He snapped back.

She crossed her arms, "I'm just saying, don't bring out the shadow puppets."

"Copy that." Will shot back sarcastically.

The segment itself actually went off fairly well and Mackenzie remained mostly silent until during a line of discussion regarding Syria the General obliquely reffered to regime's suspected stockpile of non-traditional weapons. Will remained silent and let the general continue his thought.

Mackenzie toggled her mic, "What did he just say? Push that."

Will remained silent.

"Will?" She tried again, "What does he mean by non traditional weapons? Don't let that go."

Again, nothing from Will.

"Damnit!" She interlocked her fingers behind her head and resisted the urge to rip her headpiece off.  
-

When the broadcast was finally over Will waited outside of the control room while Mackenzie wrapped up the timing board with Herb.

She saw him through the door as they finished. She sighed when she realized she had no reason to delay exiting the room. She waited for Herb to leave in front of her and crossed her arms around her portfolio as she entered the hallway and approached her anchor. "I don't think I need to say anything."

"Mac..." He started but she shook her head and just walked to her office giving him no opportunity for explanation.

He followed at her heels, "Mac, look, I wasn't going to push him on Syria's stock pile of chemical weapons; it's too close of a chord that we didn't need to pluck. I pushed him on drones and I set up Benghazi for next week, I think that's significant. I'm sorry if I chose not to make hash out of every little thing."

She huffed, "Since when is it a little thing that a violent dictator has stockpiles of god only knows what?"

"We do know and the UN knows; that's why the general was so casual about mentioning it. The speculation is everywhere. Pushing him on that one thing wouldn't have yielded anything new or impactful and would only have made him more defensive and clam up and the question itself would have reminded our viewers about the story that caused them not to trust us. I made a judgement call and I'm sorry if it's not what you wanted but I think it was the right thing to do."

She knew he was making valid points but between everything else in the day she was just too annoyed with him to concede. Instead of addressing this issue she settled for dropping her portfolio on her desk and spinning on her heel to face him, "Are you getting changed or are you planning on just standing there justifying yourself to me?"

He nodded, "I will, but I wanted to talk about this."

"You've talked. I'm still annoyed and I don't need to tell you why. So get changed so we don't need to add hungry and tired to the list of reasons why I'm currently annoyed." She crossed her arms and set her jaw waiting for him to get the message and refusing to budge.

Will licked at his lips, looking as if he wanted to say something more but thought better of it. Instead he nodded,"Give me 2 minutes and we'll be out of here?"

She nodded, providing him the affirmation that despite her anger she was still intending on going home with him. He nodded again and hurried out of the office.

The tension in the car was not nearly as enjoyable as the tension from the previous evening and Mackenzie found herself mentally cataloging the wine she knew Will had stocked and planning on which one she was going to pour herself a large glass.

When they finally reached the apartment building Manny greeted them at the door with a smile, "Ms. McHale. Do you have a moment now?"

She sighed at the most recent obstacle between her and the wine she so badly wanted, "Why?"

The doorman seemed oblivious of her darkening mood and smiled happily at her, "Mr. McAvoy submitted a request for you to have your own access card and for you to be indicated as a resident of the building. I just need to grab some quick information from you and have you sign a form so I can give you your card."

She sighed, annoyed at herself that despite how pissed she was at him, the thought that Will made the effort to register her with the building still made her happy and the idea of living together sent butterflies into her stomach. "I suppose I have a couple of minutes now."

Will shuffled next to her, "I'm sorry but I'm about to explode, if it's alright I'm going to head up." He muttered apologetically.

She rolled her eyes, "I'm perfectly capable of filling out my own paperwork thank you."

"I know. I wasn't...you're right." He stammered. "I'll see you up stairs in a couple of minutes?" He muttered tapping the elevator call button.

She just nodded curtly to him but internally she sighed at herself. It had been a terrible day. No matter what happened she just became more and more annoyed as the day went on. And although Will was definitely the source of her consternation he had also been the one trying to build bridges; even when he didn't want to talk about what bothered him this morning he still was the one who made the effort to make sure they started the work day with kind words. He had followed up with her

She finished Manny's paperwork quickly and continued to mull over the day as she waited for the elevator. All of the little things from the day had just added up to make her way more frustrated than she needed to be by the end of the day.

She also hadn't missed the fear in his eyes when he stood in her office and in his voice when he said he'd see her upstairs. If the day's tribulations had left her frustrated and angry than they had obviously left him shaken in his confidence in her dedication to this relationship. And why wouldn't he be shaken? Not only was she the one who had put a halt to all his physical advances yesterday but today while he had brought her lunch and made an effort to talk about the problems that had come up she had dug in her heels, literally turning her back on him after the broadcast.

As the elevator slowed she shook her head and forced her brain to slow down while she prioritized. First she needed to make it abundantly clear that she did love him and even when she was pissed or annoyed at him at work she wasn't going to let this relationship fall apart. She just wasn't used to talking everything out, they had spent years smothering what was bothering them and hiding from each other. He was obviously working on moving past that and she could fix that too; she could be that person with him. She would make sure he never had any reason to doubt her love for him before she continued their ongoing ratings fight.

She stepped out of the elevator while mentally developing her game plan but she halted immediately once she stepped into the dark apartment,eyes wide, Will's name frozen on her lips.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N The end of this chapter gets...suggestive. I don't think I need to up the rating of the whole story because of it because it's not overtly graphic but if you think I should change it please let me know._

* * *

Mac stood, stunned still in the apartment entrance.

3 candles were flickering on the table at the end of the entrance way and their light was reflected off the trail of rose petals on the floor.

Mackenzie slowly put down her bag and hung up her coat, processing what was in front of her and trying to reconcile it with the tension she had felt from Will during the car ride over.

She walked gingerly to living room and saw the trail of petals leading across the apartment.

"Will?"

In response she heard a shuffle, something banging into something else and a muffled curse. She smiled and followed the trail until it led her to the bedroom where she stopped in the doorway.

Her eyes traveled the room which was lit from the glow of what had to be close to 50 candles. The sounds of a jazz quintet were coming quietly from the stereo and the petal trail from the apartment continued up to the bed where a dozen long stem roses lay. Will was standing near the far end table, the drawer toppled over on the ground next to an upended box of candles. He looked over to her sheepishly, "You were faster than I thought you'd be."

Mackenzie was speechless but managed to overcome herself enough to ask, "What's all this?"

He cast a quick look to the mess by his feet before stepping around the bed and approaching Mackenzie, stopping a few feet in front of her and clasping his hands together. "Yesterday you said you didn't need rose petals or candles but I thought that you do need, or at least deserve, those things. Because you were right. Starting this again is something special." His hands gestured wildly between the two of them. "It's not just picking up where we left off and you need to know that I know that and that I don't take any part of this for granted and that every moment with you is special. So may be you didn't think you need some big romantic gesture but I wanted to give it to you anyway."

He licked his lips and stared at her intently. Mac took in the scene in front of her before her gaze settled back on Will who was staring back at her, breathing shallowly with tension radiating off his frame as he unclasped his hands and stuck them deep in his pockets.

Clearly misreading her silence he spoke again, "Look, I know this might not be what you want right now, especially after the day we've had and that's okay. Like I said yesterday, whatever you want to do is fine, I don't want to push you into anything but I wanted to do this for you, show you that...I...after today I felt like it was really important to make sure you know nothing has changed...at least for me."

She shook her head slowly and bit her lip as she felt the moisture push at her widened eyes. "Billy...it was an absolutely horrid day."

He took two quick steps and he was standing in front of her. Pulling his hands from his pockets he reached out and clasped both of her hands between his own. "I know. Which is why it was important for me to do this tonight. I told you, out on the terrace, we stood just like this and I said that I'd frustrate you and you'd exasperate me but at the end of the day we'd be together just like this. We are always going to fight Mackenzie, that's who we are. Hell, I'm convinced our subconscious prods us to fight just for fun. But we can't let that screw this up. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you but we need to be able to leave our disagreements at the door. Well, at the bedroom door at least, I'm not foolish enough to think we won't fight at home. But I don't want what happens at work to screw up anything here. I'll quit if it comes down to it. Damn Leona and her breach of contract. I'll quit, Mac. I swear to god I will." His voice rose and she could feel his hands trembling around hers.

"You don't think that would cause it's own fight?" She smiled up at him, blinking rapidly.

He smiled back at her, "I suppose it would." He lifted a thumb and brushed away a tear that had escaped, "I'd do it though. I'd give up everything to keep you happy here, Mac."

She swallowed and just nodded dumbly at him.

He dropped a gentle kiss on the side of her face, "I'm sorry today was so terrible. I'll be a better fiance in the future, I promise."

With that Mackenzie flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, "You're a perfect fiance," she assured him, not moving her head, "You're absolutely wonderful. I'm the one who needs to try harder. I'm sorry I was pissed today for stupid reasons and I'm sorry I didn't want to talk about it or if I made you feel like you weren't wanted. You shouldn't have to push me to talk about things and even if I don't agree I should listen to you and let you know I value how you feel. I'm so sorry Will. I was terrible to you today and here you are being absolutely perfect and God, I don't deserve you."

As she clung to him tightly she felt his arms tense around her. "Don't say that."

She pushed back slightly to be able to look into his face, "Say what?"

He shook his head, "Don't say you don't deserve me. Or anything. Mac, there is no way I can live up to what you deserve. Do you understand me? If this is going to work, you can't be doubting your worth."

She nearly gasped at the intensity in his eyes. She opened her mouth to try and explain to him but she stopped herself, thinking. He was right. For their relationship to work they needed to be starting off as partners and trusted equals. She had no problem with that concept at work and it worked well for them. She needed to learn to accept it in her personal life as well. It was difficult for her to believe that she deserved the man standing in front of her but if that's how he saw her than she would work to see herself the same way.

She nodded, "And the same goes for you. I know I did a crappy job of reassuring you today but you need to know I'm not going to be running away even if you think I am mad as hell at you; I'm not going anywhere. Okay? You don't need to wonder if I'm coming home with you at the end of the night and you don't need to worry about big sweeping gestures to try and prove your love. I believe you and I believe in us. Do you understand?"

The corner of Will's lips turned up in a genuine smile, "I understand."

Mackenzie felt her face flush as Will's hands grasped her hips.

She ducked her chin, her hands coming to rest on his chest, aimlessly playing with the buttons on his shirt without actually unbuttoning anything.

Will bent his neck and lifted her chin so she could meet his gaze, "Mac? You okay? Like I said we don't need to do anything you don't want to do. I'm happy to just have you here."

She shook her head, "I want to..." She looked down again, mumbling.

Will tipped her head back up again, "What was that? I didn't hear you."

She sighed and locked eyes with him, "I said, I'm nervous. I'm nervous. Or anxious or, yeah, no nervous."

Will smiled and let out a long breath. He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close to him, "Me too." He whispered in her ear.

She pushed him away, eyes wide and disbelieving, "What?"

He nodded, "Of course I am. Of the two of us I'm certainly the one who has most noticeably aged. I've put on some weight and don't think I look quite as good as I did last time you saw me shirtless."

Mackenzie scoffed, "Last time I saw you shirtless was in the hospital last year when I changed your pajamas while you were sleeping. Trust me, if that was you sick, you look more than fine now."

Will narrowed his eyes at her, "I _knew_ it was you!"

She rolled her eyes, "Get over it."

He let out a huff, "Regardless...You were out in the desert with all those young, fit, marines for 2 and a half years. They were probably all hot and sweaty and running around with their shirts off. And I don't know who you've been seeing since you've been back. I mean other than idiot Wade. I know you go out with Sloan and lord only knows the men she's introduced you to, probably smart and rich finance people or musicians or football players with their muscles and 30 year old bodies and..."

Mackenzie couldn't help it, she pushed away from him and doubled over in laughter. Will put his hands on his hips, "What?"

She shook her head, standing up and trying to catch her breath. "Nothing." She put a hand over her mouth to suppress the giggles, "It just reminds me of a conversation I had with Don once. I can't believe you all think like that."

"You all?" Will asked, still failing to see the humor.

Mackenzie took a deep breath, collecting herself, "Men. You're all ridiculous. Besides, you're a smart, rich, musician so you have nothing to worry about in comparison to my imaginary dating history. And most of the marines I was embedded with were barely 23 years old and shaved their chests, I am not attracted to boys Will; What turns me on is a real, mature, _man._" She emphasized her point by dropping her voice and raking her fingers through the exposed chest hair at the top of his shirt.

Will growled in the back of his throat and reached out, pulling Mackenzie close to him and burying his face in the crook of her neck. "Good."

"On the other hand..." Mackenzie spoke and Will pulled back, groaning.

"What? What other hand?"

Mackenzie shrugged, "You're recent dating history is not so imaginary. And I have very real, visual proof of who I'm going to be compared to."

Will shook his head and tightened his hold on her, "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You know what Charlie once said about the women I was dating? He said 'They are all woman who in a million years you would never spend any day light hours with.' And he was right. None of them can even come close to being compared with you."

Mackenzie rolled her eyes, "That's sweet but it's not the day light hours I'm nervous about. It's the night time ones. You dated a professional cheer leader Will! You're not the only one who has aged 6 years. I've gained some weight too and I've got scars I didn't have before. I'm definitely not as flexible as I used to be and I'm a bit out of practice in the intimacy department. How the hell am I supposed to compare to a professional cheer leader? Or any of your _'did you see her legs'_ women?"

Will's smile slowly shrank until it was a barely noticeable bend at the end of his lips and his eyes grew dark. He said nothing but held on to her tightly and slowly manipulated them both until she was backed against the bed. He pushed her a little further until the bed pushed at the back of her knees and she sat down.

"First of all," He spoke slowly as he knelt down, gingerly lifting her leg and caressing her calf, ignoring the quick gasp that Mackenzie released. "You are the queen of all the 'd_id you see her legs?'_ women. Your legs drive me crazy Mac." He gently removed each of her shoes before his fingers took their time gently trailing up her legs, pushing up under her skirt. "And theses skirts with the slit that go up, revealing just a tantalizing hint... It's pure torture watching you walk around the office."

Mackenzie eyes followed as his hands kept moving, pushing the fabric of her skirt up and out of the way until his fingers found the tops of her stockings and toyed with the edge of the material before he smirked up at her, "I think we'll leave these on for now." He whispered in a quiet voice.

She let out a shaky breath as he pulled himself up over her, "But this torture device can go..." Not breaking eye contact with her he unzipped her skirt with one hand. She lifted her hips and he smiled, pushing the skirt down and off of her, dropping small kisses to the tops of her thighs and up to the edge of her panties still partially covered by her blouse.

"This can go too..." He rumbled quietly, slowly unbuttoning the silk fabric from the bottom and gently teasing it open as he progressed until her shirt was completely undone. She watched as he sat back, an admiring smile on his face.

"Where was I?" He teased, tossing her a wink before leaning back over her with a muttered, "That's right." He dropped a couple of hot open mouthed kisses where the top of her panties lay flush against her rapidly heating skin.

"So..." His voice vibrated across her skin as he began exploring her torso with his lips and hands, "You're worried about the weight you've gained?" He gently nipped at the skin on the top of her hips, "First of all that's ridiculous. You're gorgeous." Both of his palms ran up the sides of her stomach, his thumb pausing over the faded scar from Islamabad.

"And your scars?" He placed a gently kiss to the mark and he reached out and pulled her arm towards him and kissed the small scar he knew he would find there from the car accident she was in with her brother. "I love them, they tell a story. The story of Mackenzie McHale and I love her. He kissed her arm again and her stomach, pausing over the knife wound, "Even the painful chapters. This scar tells the story of your courage and dedication and passion and I love that story." He kissed her again.

Mackenzie couldn't stand it any more, she reached down and with hands on both sides of his face she pulled him up until his body was over hers. She lifted herself off the mattress to meet him in a fierce kiss. Now that she lay bare before him her nervousness was forgotten and replaced with 6 years worth of want and desire. Eager to feel his skin on hers she frantically began trying to undo the buttons on his shirt, whimpering when his slipped under the waistband of her panties. She had just managed to open his shirt and began to reach for his belt when he broke off their kiss smirking at her and shaking his head.

"Hold on, Kenz. I'm not done yet. There is something else you were concerned about...what was it?" He smiled wolfishly until her eyes went wide.

"That's right, " he nodded in exaggerated satisfaction as he pulled away from her, slowly removing her underwear as he did and following it with his hands and lips down the length of her legs. "You're worried about your flexibility..."

He situated himself on his knees between her and with firm hands lifted her knees over his shoulders. He looked up at her and bounced his eyebrows, "You seem perfectly flexible to me." His breath was hot on her skin and Mackenzie bit her lip to keep from whimpering in anticipation.

Will nuzzled the inside of her thigh. "Now I think we've addressed all the concerns you listed except for that you were 'Out of practice?'"

His hands ran up the outside of her thighs, as he smiled absolutely wickedly up at her, "Let me see what I can do to get you up to speed..."


	12. Chapter 12

Mackenzie nuzzled into her pillow to escape the light pouring in through the windows. She was shifted closer to consciousness when her pillow shifted beneath her, also seeming to try and escape the morning light. _Since when did her pillow have a heart beat?_

Suddenly she felt a lot less reluctant to wake and she smiled as she slowly blinked her eyes open. She readjusted herself on her fiance's chest so she could see his face. She could tell he was close to waking up himself and she couldn't resist pushing a hand through his hair which was spiked and flopped in each direction. She grinned, oddly proud that she had made him so disheveled.

Her ministrations seemed to have the opposite of her intended effect as he apparently settled and drifted back to a deeper sleep. With a quick glance at the clock she decided it was still early enough so she tucked her head into his chest and closed her eyes again as her left hand absently drew shapes on his skin.

She sighed contentedly, thinking back on their evening. Will's gesture had been exactly what they had each needed and what had followed had been the culmination and release of years of tension between them. She stretched as she felt the satiated soreness that permeated her body. Not only did she feel physically satisfied, but for the first time she truly embraced the confidence that the two of them really were going to be able to make this work; regardless of the pitfalls they would inevitably encounter.

Sure she was still annoyed with how he never seemed to completely let go of the ratings and despite her talk with Sloan she was still determined to find out what had bothered Will yesterday morning and she was certain she would do things that would drive him absolutely insane. But none of that added up to much; they were going to make it because they loved each other and were each determined not to let the other slip away again.

Besides, she thought with a sly grin, now when they fought she could look forward to make-up sex. And if make up sex was anywhere near as good as reconciliation sex she might have to come up with a list of fights to start!

She began to imagine different ways their arguments could end now and was about to drift back to sleep, lulled by her imagination and the rhythm of his heart beat and breathing, when he began to stir again.

She picked up her head and watched him wince and roll his eyes open, "Hey." He mumbled groggily.

"Hey yourself." She smiled back.

His eyes slowly blinked closed again for a moment until they shot back open as if he suddenly remembered it wasn't a regular occurrence to wake up with Mackenzie in his arms. He stared at her for a long moment before a slow smile began to split his face.

"Hi there." He rumbled, his arms moving to pull her even closer to him.

She smiled back at him, "Good morning."

"Mhrm." He agreed, planting a lazy kiss to her hair as his hands beginning to roam.

She rolled her eyes and settled back against his chest or at least she tried to until he pulled away from her.

"Will!" She whined.

"Hold on." With more energy than one would expect from someone who had just been sound asleep, he threw back the blanket that was covering them.

"Billy!" Mackenzie shrieked and tried to grab the edge of the blanket back.

He laughed and with feigned reluctance he eventually capitulated and handed her the blanket which she immediately wrapped around them both.

"What on earth was that about?" She complained as she shifted, trying to return to how she had been so comfortable. "It's cold!"

He grinned widely,"I know, but I wanted to see you naked."

"Will." Mackenzie rolled her eyes, ignoring him as she still fidgeted with the blanket, "You saw me plenty naked last night. And much of this morning actually. Really its barely been 3 hours since you last saw me naked."

"Yeah but it was dark then." He pointed out.

She stopped and looked at him, "There were like a million candles!"

"Yeah, but now it's day light. It's better."

"You're unbelievable." She flopped back against the pillows.

"But you love me, right?" He leaned over her, smiling innocently.

She sighed and reached a hand up to his cheek, "God help me I really do."

He smiled and settled against her, wrapping his arms around as she hummed contently against him.

She adjusted herself against his chest and closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of being held by him. "I wish we didn't need to got to work so soon and we could just stay here." She murmured.

"Done." Will nodded.

She shook her head but didn't move, "Will, honey, we have to go to work."

"Hold on to that thought." He muttered as he reached over her, fumbling for his blackberry off the bedside table. He flicked it on and pushed a quick series of buttons.

"Will..." Mac pushed back, glaring at him.

"I'm on the phone." He gestured obtusely to his ear and shifted over in the bed.

"Billy!" She struggled to crawl over him trying to get the phone out of his hands but he sat up and successfully maneuvered out of range, holding her tightly to his other side.

"Hi Mac, What's up?" Jim's voice came over the line and Will blinked, frowning in confusion and pulling the phone away from his ear to stare at it.

"Mac? Mac? Are you okay? Mackenzie?" Jim's voice echoed softly from the speaker.

Will shook himself out of his confusion. "Uh, hey Jim, actually it's me, Will. I must have grabbed the wrong phone. Mac, you're going to need to get one of those colored covers or something so we don't switch these up all the time."

Still clutched tightly to Will's side Mac poked him hard in the ribs. He jumped slightly and glared at her but refrained from retaliating when Jim replied, reminding Will that he was still on the phone and not alone with Mackenzie.

"Oh eh, yeah, okay. Hey man, what's going on?" Jim coughed awkwardly.

"Think you can handle the first run down meeting? Mac and I are going to be late." His casual tone cracked as Mackenzie continued poking him wherever she could reach.

"Um, yeah. I mean of course. Sure. What ever you guys need." Jim stammered.

"Thanks. See you probably around noon." Will grinned into the phone as he hung it up and released his hold on Mackenzie who fell back onto the bed, pulling a pillow over her face.

"I can't believe you just did that." She mumbled into the pillow.

Will smiled and pulled it back so he could see her face. "Hey, come on now. A couple of hours, just once, during a week when we've gotten engaged and have had no real time to ourselves. We'll be in by noon and nobody will care."

She pushed herself up on her elbows, "Oh just the opposite. Do you have any idea what you've just doomed me to with Sloan? And poor Jim, he's so awkward and he knows exactly what's happening here; he's not going to be able to look me in the eye for a week."

Will didn't respond, himself unable to make eye contact with her since she sat up and the blanket had slipped down below her chest.

She rolled her eyes and pulled up the blanket. "Did you hear what I'm saying?"

Will finally dragged his eyes up to meet hers, "Huh? Yeah. Well Sloan is always going to want girl talk and all I can say is better you than me and as for Jim, well he's just going to have to get over it because if you think I'm not going to flirt with you for fear of making _Jim uncomfortable..._"

She sighed, "Will...we really are going to need to behave in the office."

He put on a mock pout but quickly sobered his expression and nodded, reaching out for Mackenzie's hand, "I know. I just..." He sighed and stared at her for a long moment, "I just feel_ so good_ right now here, with you. I don't want it to end."

Mackenzie smiled brilliantly at him, gently bringing her lips to his, "I know what you mean. I feel the same way." She stroked his cheek, "But it's not going to end, we're just going to stick it in a drawer when we're at work."

"I know." He looked down before meeting her eyes and flashing a small smile, "I figured just for today it might be okay to give ourselves a little extra space." He cupped her cheek with his hand as he dropped a lingering kiss on her lips. He looked at her steadily before grinning, "Besides, we really do need the time this morning."

Mackenzie smile conspiratorially, "Seeing as the call has already been made, I don't suppose I should waste time arguing with you..." She leaned close to him, no longer covering herself with the sheet and her fingers playing with the hair on his chest, "What do we possibly need the time for that we didn't already do last night?" She asked, smirking up at him.

Will licked his lips and raised his eyebrows,"Well, two things really. First of all we still haven't gotten around to that shower together..."

Mackenzie grinned wickedly, "That's right..." She drawled out, "I'm certainly not opposed to that. What's the second thing we need time for Billy?"

He cleared his throat and looked at her carefully. _"Pack._"

Mackenzie pulled back from where she had begun to kiss her way along his collarbone to stare at him blankly. "Wait,_ what?_"

Suddenly it clicked and her eyes grew wide as her mouth dropped open, "Oh my god! Will! We're going to London tonight! We need to leave from the show! I need to pack before we go in!"

She jumped out of the bed and started moving with uncoordinated urgency around the bedroom while Will leaned back and watched. She had just picked up the overnight bag she had brought over two days ago when she froze, "Will, I _can't_ pack. Most of my things are at my apartment."

He nodded, getting out of the bed and gently holding her elbows. "I know. Which is why we need time this morning. I'll throw somethings in my travel bag while you maybe make coffee and throw some muffins in the toaster? Then we can head over to your place and pack a bag before we go to the office? Does that sound okay?"

She released a breath and nodded, "Yes, okay. That sounds like a good plan."

He nodded too, "And if you promise not to pack like a crazy lady then we should still have plenty of time so how about we take that shower together first?"

She stood on her tiptoes and dropped a barely there kiss to his lips, smiling as she felt the evidence of how much Will was anticipating that shower. "Sounds like an even better plan. Come on Billy."


	13. Chapter 13

**tap tap tap tap tap***

Will was driving her_ crazy._

She first noticed it yesterday afternoon prior to the broadcast when they were sitting in his office to call her brother about their lunch plans with her parents. His fingers began thrumming a steady staccato rhythm on the desk and it hadn't stopped since.

**tap tap tap tap tap**

It had even continued throughout the broadcast whenever the camera wasn't on him. More than once when the camera _was_ on him she had to remind him that jiggling his knee under the desk was still visible on camera.

**tap tap tap tap tap**

It had been particularly annoying on the airplane when the tapping continued on her arm while she had been trying to sleep against his shoulder.

**tap tap tap tap tap**

Now they were in the car, almost to the restaurant not far from her parent's estate in Surrey and the tapping had increased in tempo and volume.

She finally could not stand it any longer, "What is with you?"

"What?" He asked, not taking his eyes from the road.

"The tapping?" She reached over and tapped demonstratively on the wheel next to his hands. "You've been tapping on nearly every available surface for over 12 hours and I'd like to figure out why before you go from just annoying me to also annoying my parents and my brother and possibly the entirety of the restaurant."

Will's eyes went wide and his hand stilled. "I won't. See? Done."

She smiled patronizingly until she realized his right knee had started bouncing again. She reached over and placed a calming hand on his thigh. She felt his muscles constrict under her palm and a previously inconceivable thought crossed her mind as she noticed his lips set firmly in a straight line.

"Billy, is it possible that you're nervous?"

Will said nothing, glancing guiltily over at her before returning his eyes to the road and visibly tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

Mackenzie tilted her head and bit her lip, "Billy..."

He shrugged, "I'm not exactly nervous; but maybe I am just a little edgy."

She stroked his arm, "But why? It's not like it's the first time you're meeting them. My parents love you, you know that. God, my dad used to call you more often than me! When they were in Maryland we would to see them practically once a month!"

"That was before."

Mackenzie still didn't understand, "Why would that matter?"

He glanced over to her, "Look, I've never had kids, but I have the feeling that parents such as yours aren't exactly fond of those who hurt their kids." He gesticulated towards himself with his right hand.

Mackenzie furrowed her brow, "Hurt their kids? Why would they think that you...? Will, you know I didn't tell them about the other night..."

"I'm not talking about the other night," Will sighed, "Mac, I'm talking about 6 years ago."

She blinked in bewilderment, "What? But Will I was the one who..."

"And I was the one who kicked you out," He interrupted her familiar self admonishment. "I was unyielding and made you think you were irredeemable and essentially sent you off to a war zone where you subsequently were shot at and stabbed. It wouldn't take a stretch of the imagination for your Dad to find fault there." He kept looking her way, trying his best to maintain eye contact while keeping an eye on the road ahead.

"Well I think you're wrong." She crossed her arms and immediately uncrossed them again so she could gesture emphatically as she spoke, "My parents were thrilled that I started working with you again and we had some long talks after they found out why we broke up and I can tell you they were none too proud of their daughter."

Will shrugged, "I'm just saying this has the potential for not being entirely smooth sailing."

Mackenzie looked hard at Will before sighing and sitting back in her seat, watching the city give way to the countryside outside her window.

Before long they were pulling through the front gates of the country club and Mackenzie just rolled her eyes as Will began to fidget again.

He let out a long breath, "What did your brother tell them?"

Mackenzie raised her shoulders, "Freddy said that he just asked them to lunch. He wasn't going to tell them anything."

Will nodded, "Okay, well, tell you what? Why don't I drop you off at the door and then I park the car. You can go in and have a little of the whole 'We're so happy to see our daughter' interaction before I come in with what ever drama we're going to start."

Mac sighed, "Are you going to actually come in or are you going to freak yourself out and high tail it back to London?"

Will shook his head, "I'm not going to run away. I'm no coward." His insistence didn't match the tension in his shoulders but Mackenzie knew hew was being honest and she trusted him.

Mac took one last look at him as they pulled up to the door before nodding and kissing his cheek. "Okay. But if you're not in there in two minutes I'm calling Scotland Yard."

"Okay." He smiled, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Mackenzie stepped out of the car and took a deep breath before entering the restaurant. Despite her assurances to Will, she too was a little nervous. She knew her parents would be happy to see her and happy to see Will, but she wasn't so sure they would be understanding of their sudden engagement. She twisted her ring so the diamond faced in toward her palm, hoping to buy herself some time before her mother noticed it. She supposed she could just put it in her pocket but a loud part of her brain insisted that she not take it off so she just had to settle for hoping her mother was too distracted.

She squared her shoulders and stepped through the oak doors.

Almost immediately she knew what direction to go as she heard her mother over the din of the restaurant, "Freddy, I am just saying it appears we have been asked to lunch under false circumstances. For whom are the other two chairs intended?"

"First of all Mum, it wasn't false circumstances. I just asked you to meet me for lunch, which you are. I didn't lie at all. Let's just order some drinks and sit for a few minutes, shall we?"

"You know I do not appreciate semantic arguing Freddy."

"I know Mum, I'm sorry. Please just trust me."

"I do not think it is outlandish to want to know who my dining companions will be."

"Polly, let the boy be. I do not believe he is trying to be purposefully cheeky. We shall find out in due time what ever it is he has up his sleeve."

Mackenzie figured that it was as good a time as any to make her presence known, "Actually, Freddy has nothing up his sleeve, this was all my scheme."

"Mackenzie, darling!" "Duckie!" Both of her parents exclaimed simultaneously smiling and standing to envelope her in hugs while Freddy stood back, giving his sister a grateful smile.

"What a wonderful surprise!" Mac's mother had taken over the hugging from her father and was happily crushing Mackenzie to her.

"Yes, it is indeed. What is the occasion? Where you already in country? How long are you staying?"

Mackenzie managed to pull away from her mother to look her father in the eye, "I'm actually not staying long. We just arrived this morning and have a flight back to New York after lunch tomorrow."

Her father raised an eyebrow, "We? And who might this travel companion of yours be?"

Mackenzie was saved from answering by her mother's awe filled whisper, "William?"

She had released her daughter when her eyes had caught the blond haired man tentatively approaching their table. She brought her hands up to her mouth, "Oh it is." With a wide smile she stepped fully away from Mackenzie and hurried forward to meet Will.

"Good afternoon Mrs. McHale, it is good to..."

Will's greeting was cut off by Mary McHale stretching her short frame to fiercely wrap her arms around his neck and pull him tightly to her. "Will, it is so wonderful to see you! Oh, it has been ages!"

Mackenzie smiled at her mother's display of affection, "Well, I guess she's happy to see him." She observed dryly to her father who appeared not to hear her, as he also stepped forward. "Polly dear, let the man breath. It would not be seemly to suffocate him after so long of an absence."

Mary glared at her husband but released her grip on Will's neck while keeping a hand on his arm, wiping at her eyes with her other hand. "Just ignore my husband, William. He doesn't understand motherly affection." She smiled and rubbed his arm, "I just can not believe you are here. It is wonderful."

Mackenzie's father made a show of rolling his eyes before winking and smiling at Will, "Well, she is right about one thing, it is wonderful to see you McAvoy."

Will smiled and accepted the outstretched hand, "Thank you Sir. I am very happy to see the both of you as well."

"Sir?" Mac's father raised his eyebrow "I know it has been a while but I would hate to imagine that enough time has passed that you have forgotten my name?"

Will shook his head with a small, pleased grin, "No Sir, I mean Nate, of course not."

The older man smiled, "Come here Will," he pulled Will close and into a brief embrace. "I am very glad to see you again."

Will returned the embrace and ducked his head, clearing his throat when they stepped back.

Nathaniel smiled and slapped Will on the back, "Come on now, let's go have the lunch my sneaky children have set up for us all."

Will followed him back to the table, rolling his eyes at Mackenzie who was grinning triumphantly at him from next to her brother.

"Okay, you were right." He muttered to her as he reached out a hand to her brother, "Freddy, good to see you again."

"You too, Mate." Freddy returned with a wink. "Now, wasn't this worth waiting for Mum?" Freddy asked to the group at large as they settled themselves around the table.

Mary glared at her son, "Oh shush you. Good surprise or not, it's not right to play games with your Mother."

"But..." Freddy began to protest, pantomiming all the hugging that had just played out.

Nathaniel shook his head wisely and pulled Freddy's hands back to the table, "You're not going to win this one Son."

Mary shot her husband a look before returning her attention back to the two newcomers, "So you landed this morning and are leaving again tomorrow afternoon? I can't believe it was just so you could have lunch with us. Doing some journalistic investigating in London perhaps?"

Will licked his lips and looked at Mackenzie. She looked back at him and took a deep breath. "Actually Mum, yes, believe it or now, we did fly out here just to have lunch with you. Well, not just lunch. We have something we wanted to tell you."

Mackenzie bit her lip and looked back at Will and then back to her parents. Nathaniel's eyebrows rose in amusement while Mary's face wore a restrained but hopeful smile. "Go on, Duckie, what did you want to say?" her father gently prodded.

Will reached his hand under the table and gave her hand a squeeze and subtly turning the ring around on her finger. She squeezed back and looked to her parents, "You may have guessed that Will and I are back together. But it's more than that. He asked me to marry him and I said yes."

Mary's hands flew to her mouth, "Oh Mackenzie, my dear!" She stood again and embraced her daughter in a tight hug.

Nathaniel stayed in his seat, smirking at Will. He waited for Mary to have her moment with Mackenzie before he leaned back and crossed his arms, keeping his eyes steadily locked on his soon-to-be son-in-law. "So you asked my daughter to marry you? When did this happen?" He asked in a slow, even tone.

Mackenzie's eyes went wide, "Daddy, I know he didn't ask you first but honestly that is such an archaic tradition, you can't possibly let that..."

Will placed a hand on Mac's arm and gave a small shake of his head, "It's okay."

Mackenzie gaped back at him but sat back, watching the interaction between her father and her future husband.

Will looked back to the elder, _knighted,_ statesman, and shifted uncomfortably under the piercing gaze sent in his direction. Still, he was not easily intimidated and he summoned all that he had in him to sit straight and make confident eye contact, "Well, Sir. Tuesday night, or, well, actually it was technically Wednesday morning by that point."

The former diplomat nodded slowly. "This past Wednesday morning? As in 4 days ago?"

Will nodded stiffly.

Nathaniel shook his head slowly as his smirk morphed in to a wide grin, "Well! You certainly do take your time!"

"What?" Mackenzie asked, bewildered as Will hung his head, letting out an amused huff of laughter.

Nathaniel stood and made his way to his daughter, dropping a kiss on her head, "Honey, I am very happy for you and I may seem like an old fogey but I'm a modern enough man to not demand a man ask my permission when hoping to wed my impressively independent daughter. And even if that was important to me, it wouldn't matter right now because William asked my permission to marry you years ago." He smiled at Mackenzie's shocked face before turning his attention back to Will, "I know you said it wouldn't be right away but generally when one gives approval they think they may need to wait a few weeks or maybe months, but going on 7 years is a bit extreme, young man." He patted Will on the shoulder. "I'm glad you finally got around to it. Welcome to the family, son."

Mary squeezed his arm, "Yes, welcome to the family."

Freddy nodded, "What is it they say in America Kenz? _Bro?_ Welcome to the family bro. Congratulations Kenzie."

Mac ignored her brother's attempt to kiss her cheek as she stared at Will.

"You asked my Dad 7 years ago?" She asked quietly, her eyes wide and confusion etched across her face.

Will shrugged, "Not quite 7 years ago. It was right before they moved back to England. I wasn't sure if I'd have a chance to see him again before I wanted to ask you so I asked him then. It's not exactly the sort of thing you ask over the phone."

Mackenzie bit her lip, "When they moved? That was, that was months before I...before we..."

Will looked down before meeting her eyes and shrugging again, "I know and I wanted to ask you then but I was worried about doing it right; you know, plan a trip or something, and I wanted to get you _that_ ring," he gestured to her hand, "but my new contract hadn't gone in to effect yet...I was stupid and hung up on the material things and I just needed a little more time."

Mackenzie shook her head, "But the ring...you said Scott's assistant..."

Will licked his lips and looked quickly around the table, not exactly wanting to get into everything in front of her family. "Scott's assistant_ picked it up_. But I had already picked it out years ago. I just emailed him the file I had saved from back then when I had been shopping around."

"Really?" She was blinking rapidly but it didn't prevent a few stray tears from escaping.

"You can call and ask him." Will confirmed. Leaning forward and brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.

She covered his hand with her own and kissed him passionately until he pulled back, glancing at her parents and clearing his throat.

"Oh, um..." Blush crept up both of their faces but the rest of the McHale family didn't seem to mind.

Nathaniel just smiled, "Freddy, get the attention of the waiter, I believe we will be needing some some champagne with our lunch."


	14. Chapter 14

Mackenzie walked quietly through the dark halls of her parents' house, searching for her fiancé and knowing where she could probably find him.

She stopped in the doorframe and watched him quietly.

He was silhouetted against the setting sun streaming through the large window, his attention focused on the book in his hands. She she shifted her weight and a floorboard creaked prompting Will to look in her direction.

She smiled at him gently, "I thought I'd find you here."

He shrugged and looked around the expansive room, "I just don't think I will ever get over the fact that your parents have an actual library in their house."

"They just put all of their books in one room."

"That's called a library Mac." He retorted with a smirk, "And this one is like something out of Beauty and the Beast."

She smiled and tucked herself into his side, "And what are you reading there my Beast?"

Will raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, technically you would be the Beast as this is your family's library and I'm the peasant."

"So that makes you Belle?"

Will shrugged, "I'm comfortable in my masculinity."

Mackenzie tilted her head back and laughed, "Okay, fine. What is it you are reading my Belle?"

Will sheepishly handed over the leather bound book he had been skimming through.

Mackenzie shook her head as she looked at the volume in her hand, "Grimm's Fairy Tales?"

"I like the stories." He defended.

She shook her head, "These versions are a little dark and demented."

"So am I."

"That's true." She readily agreed leaning back against him as she opened the book, casually flipping through the pages.

He put his hands on her arms and stepped back, sinking into one of the chairs and pulling her with him onto his lap. "How was your secret girl talk?"

Mary McHale had pulled Mackenzie off with her after their leisurely lunch, insisting on a Mother-Daughter chat. The men had been shooed away and spent the afternoon strolling about the grounds of the country club, Freddy pointing out his and Mac's favorite places for hide and seek or the most reliable spots during the annual Easter Egg hunts of their youth.

Will was certainly no stranger to wealth and had even become accustomed to a privileged lifestyle but despite his personal wealth he couldn't help but feel slightly out of place and a bit awed of the world of old money he was being shown. Mackenzie was such a hard worker and seemed so grounded that he often forgot how drastically different their upbringings had been.

She was the daughter of an ambassador, an actual knight of the order of St. Michael and St. George. He was the son of a drunken Nebraskan farmer. She had traveled the world and gone to the finest schools. He had gone to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln barely 50 miles from home and didn't even leave the state until his Junior year when he began touring for law schools. She had never wanted for anything while Will could remember the ball of hunger in his stomach and the fear in his fathers eyes the year a sickness had destroyed the crops and the bank put a lien on the farm. That was the year John McAvoy's existing violent tendencies had increased to the point that a 10 year old Will had felt the need to fight back. The day she was stabbed in Islamabad was the first time Mackenzie had felt the sting of violence purposefully directed toward her.

Knowing them now, most people would never guess the life of privilege or struggle that marked their youth. They both worked hard and determinedly to cast their own identity. Neither felt the pull of nostalgia for their childhood. They both claimed New York as their home and lived the lives they had created for themselves and rightfully earned. They were equals. But every now and then there were moments, like standing in that vaulted library, that Will felt fraudulent and woefully inadequate.

But then Mackenzie settled into his lap and wrapped her hands around his neck, playing gently with his hair and he mused that it must be okay, because she was one who could have anything she wanted and she choose him.

"Sometimes, my mother is worse than Sloan." She griped, sporting a seemingly contradictory grin.

Will's eyebrows climbed in amusement concealing his introspective, "Oh?"

Mackenzie sighed with a smile, "She's very happy about everything. Although I'm not so sure if she's happier that I'm actually getting married or that you're the one I'm marrying." She ran her hand through his hair, "I told you that you had nothing to worry about. I think my parents love you more than me."

Will tried to smirk, "That's just because it's been longer since they've seen me."

"Give them some time to get used to you again and you'll drive them as crazy as you do me?" Mac asked indulgently.

"Something like that." He punctuated with a kiss to her nose.

Mac settled on to his chest. "Where's my father?"

Will gestured vaguely with his hand, "He headed off to take a nap. We did a lot of walking and he spent a lot of time telling me what an idiot I am so I think he was a little winded. But he says he's gotten into the habit of afternoon naps."

Mackenzie nodded thoughtfully, "Ever since the scare with his heart a few years ago Mom has been pretty insistent on making sure he gets enough rest." She nuzzled her face into his shoulder, "He loves you too you know."

Will just murmured in response and tightened his hold on her.

"Will?"

He kept his eyes averted and ran his hand up her arm, "I love your parents too. They're good people."

Mackenzie pulled back to look at him questioningly. "Billy? What's on your mind."

He shrugged, "Just tired I think. Jetlag."

She squinted at him, piercing him with the kind of inquisitive gaze that made him want to shrink away. Finally she shook her head, "You handle jet lag better than anyone I know. More often than not it is an excuse for you not to sleep. What's going on?"

He closed his eyes, arguing against himself. It had been such a pleasant moment and he mentally shoved his subconscious for bringing up memories and he mentally cursed her for knowing him so well. Maybe if he just stayed quiet they could go back to her just smiling, sitting on his lap with her hands in his hair and talking about her parents. That would be nice. He wouldn't mind doing that all day.

He sighed because he knew that wasn't an option. He opened his eyes and met Mackenzie's patiently waiting face. He smiled gently at her, hoping to erase the concern flickering in her eyes.

"I've been dreaming more about my childhood." He started quietly, watching the moment it took for Mackenzie to process what he was saying and her eyes grow wider with the silent "Oh."

He licked his lips and looked away, "It's been happening more since March, you know, since he died. I figure it's normal psychological reaction, whatever and some day I'll tell Habib and he'll be annoying for a couple of sessions and help me to stop them eventually."

Mackenzie tilted her head "You've been having nightmares about your childhood for 8 months and haven't told your therapist?"

Will rolled his eyes and looked at her, "Does that really surprise you?"

Mac pulled herself up, ready to argue but seemed to deflate, letting out a low breath, "No."

He smirked and she shook her head, running her hand across his shoulder, "That was what was bothering you Thursday morning?"

"Yeah." Will nodded, smirk falling off his face. He sighed, "Not really actually. Partially."

Mackenzie pouted in confusion but stayed silent, willing him to continue.

He reached a hand up and tucked a fallen lock of hair behind her ear, "Thursday was different. It started the same. A memory or an amalgamation of Dad, you know..." He drifted off before locking eyes with Mackenzie and she had to restrain herself from gasping at the fear in his eyes, "But then it changed and it was me. And you. And I was the one hitting and yelling and you were the one trying to run and crying."

"Will..." Mackenzie's voice trailed off, unsure of what to say. Still seeing the apprehension in his face she ducked her head into his neck and held him tightly. He sat frozen for a moment before squeezing her tightly in return. "That will never happen Will." She began murmuring into his skin, "Never, ever happen. I believe it as much as I believe the sun is going to rise tomorrow. I have never been afraid of you; even when I was afraid you hated me I was never afraid of you. I always feel safe with you. That was just a dream, a stupid, messed up dream and it is never, ever going to be real."

Will clutched her to him, drinking in her words and reassurances.

After he had finally begun to loosen his grip on her Mackenzie sat back so she could look him in the eye. She stroked the side of his face, "You're a good man William McAvoy. No one should have to go through what you went through as a child and but the fact that you are who you are now in spite of everything just proves how good you are and I love you for it. I love you and we're going to be married, Will. It's going to be a happy, wonderful marriage and even when we fight and yell I will never be afraid of you and we're going to have a happy home."

"Happily ever after?" He murmured, his hand rubbing absently across the cover of the book still in her lap.

She nodded, "Yes, happily ever after."

will lifted his head and smiled at her, "Fairy tales aren't just for girls you know."

Mackenzie tilted her head, following Will's gaze to his fingers fiddling with the book cover, "You know I love a good story. When I was a little boy I spent a lot of time in the school library after school. I loved to read. I'd read anything from the Encyclopedia to Huckleberry Finn. I would escape into the books. The library was small and didn't have a large collection, less than your parents have here probably, but they did have this one." He opened the cover and thumbed through the pages, "I read these stories cover to cover. I would never take them home but I wouldn't stop thinking about them. I'd try to mentally reread them and sometimes, when things were bad, I would rework them in my head. I would go to sleep imagining that one day I would meet a princess and sweep her off her feet and she would take me away to her castle and I'd never have to worry about my dad ever again." He paused, pulling his attention from the book to look up into her eyes, "I'm just realizing now that it's come true."

Mackenzie bit her lip, "Billy..."

He cupped her face in his hands, "You're my fairy tale Mac. 12 year old me would never believe I'd be sitting here, in this crazy house in England, with this beautiful, wonderous woman. It's like a fairy tale come true."

"Will," She smiled at him, mirroring him by placing her hands on his face, "This isn't some fairy tale. Through determination and education, intelligence and guile You had already swept yourself off to Camelot long before I met you. You didn't need anyone to make you who you are and trust me, I'm no princess."

"You are to me." He smiled, kissing her gently.

"I thought I was the beast?" She teased.

He smirked, "That was just because of the library. In every other way you're a princess."

"You know I have two Peabodies." She snarked.

"Are you trying to say that Princesses can't be accomplished and powerful women?" He needled her, "That just smacks of sexism."

"That's enough." She rolled her eyes and pushed to stand up.

He tightened his hold, "I'm trying to be sweet."

"And you are being very sweet." She bent and kissed him lightly on the lips, "But you should also know I grew out of the name princess before I was 4 years old."

"Shocking..." He mumbled against the skin of her neck.

"Shut up." She smiled, kissing him before again pushing herself back and up off of his lap.

She took the book with her and his eyes followed her as she returned it to the shelf before moving to the door, "Where are you going now?"

She shrugged, "I thought I might see if my father is awake yet and may be go down to the horse stables." She turned to face him, stretching out her hand, "You joining me?"

"I like horses." He smiled and pushed himself out of the chair and grabbed her hand.


End file.
